A bias for hope

Abstract

The two competing currents of `monism' and `pluralism' have fought a pitched battle within Western philosophy for centuries - and have also infused national developmental policies for the better part of this period. In this incisive new book on Latin America, Javier Santiso shows how the latter outlook is gaining ground at the expense of the former. Santiso's account of the new shift towards what Albert Hirschman famously termed `possibilism' is not flawless but it is worth reading for anyone interested in the current state of affairs in the southern half of the Americas.