Albert O. Hirschman
Born
in Berlin, Germany
April 07, 1915
Died
December 10, 2012
Genre
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Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States
21 editions
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published
1970
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The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism Before Its Triumph
34 editions
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published
1977
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The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy
24 editions
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published
1991
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Shifting Involvements: Private Interest and Public Action
19 editions
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published
1981
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The Essential Hirschman
by
9 editions
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published
2013
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The Strategy Of Economic Development
14 editions
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published
1958
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Development Projects Observed
18 editions
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published
1967
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Crossing Boundaries: Selected Writings
8 editions
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published
1998
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National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade
5 editions
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published
1969
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Rival Views of Market Society and Other Recent Essays
6 editions
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published
1992
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“Creativity always comes a surprise to us; therefore we can never count on it and we dare not believe in it until it has happened. In other words, we would not consciously engage upon tasks whose success clearly requires that creativity be forthcoming. Hence, the only way in which we can bring our creative resources fully into play is by misjudging the nature of the task, by presenting it to ourselves as more routine, simple, undemanding of genuine creativity that it will turn out to be”
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“Creativity always comes as a surprise to us; therefore we can never count on it and we dare not believe in it until it has happened. In other words, we would not consciously engage upon tasks whose success clearly requires that creativity be forthcoming. Hence, the only way in which we can bring our creative resources fully into play is by misjudging the nature of the task, by presenting it to ourselves as more routine, simple, undemanding of genuine creativity than it will turn out to be. Or, put differently: since we necessarily underestimate our creativity, it is desirable that we underestimate to a roughly similar extent the difficulties of the tasks we face so as to be tricked by these two offsetting underestimates into undertaking tasks that we can, but otherwise would not dare, tackle. The principle is important enough to deserve a name: since we are apparently on the trail here of some sort of invisible or hidden hand that beneficially hides difficulties from us, I propose the Hiding Hand.”
― Development Projects Observed
― Development Projects Observed