The Strategy of Economic Development

May 9, 2021 11:56 PM

Albert O. Hirschman [threadreader] - "Anti-fascist, resistance hero, later a development economist—may be the most interesting person to ever take up the profession... Hirschman had fought fascism in four countries, earning two graduate degrees along the way. He was still just 25 years old."[1,2,3,4,5,6]

• The Real Development was the Friends We Made Along the Way - "Hirschman was a master of those little ideas that, once you've heard them, are impossible to shake loose from your head."
• The principle of the hiding hand - "What this principle suggests is that, far from seeking out and taking up challenges, people are apt to take on and plunge in to new tasks because of the erroneously presumed absence of a challenge – because the task looks easier and more manageable than it will turn out to be." (pdf)

posted by kliuless (6 comments total)

Hirschman also wrote Exit, Voice, and Loyalty about the problems that face members of an organization when it gets worse, the options members have fundamentally, and how loyalty affects those things.
posted by Chrysopoeia at 12:34 AM on May 10, 2021 [9 favorites]

A timely FPP for me, kliuless, thanks!
posted by infini at 4:52 AM on May 10, 2021

Badass.
posted by dazed_one at 7:00 AM on May 10, 2021

An excellent read, thanks kliuless!

I see that OpenLibrary has his book "The strategy of economic development" available to borrow as an ebook.

/me adds to reading list.
posted by amcewen at 7:15 AM on May 10, 2021

I had never heard of Hirschman but the brief bio in the Twitter thread is great, and the titles of his books are so evocative!

I am looking forward to learning more about this fascinating man and his work.

Thank you so much for posting this, kliuless!
posted by kristi at 2:35 PM on May 11, 2021

That was a great read. Thanks so much for sharing!
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 4:01 PM on May 15, 2021