On 24 February, the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy (AHCD) hosted a public conversation on the lasting impact of Albert O. Hirschman’s ideas across economics, politics, and history. With his “bias for hope”, Hirschman’s work offers precious insights into today’s pressing research and policy challenges.

Andrés M. Guiot-Isaac, Fellow in Economic History at the London School of Economics, was in conversation with Christine Lutringer, Senior Researcher and Executive Director of the AHCD, and Yanina Welp, Research Fellow at the Centre.

Guiot-Isaac reflected on his experience translating Worldly Philosopher, Jeremy Adelman’s biography of Hirschman, describing the project as an immersion into both the life and mind of a thinker shaped by movement, exile, and engagement with the world. He spoke particularly about Hirschman’s formative time in Colombia and his lasting contributions to development thought.

He described Hirschman’s life as a window into the twentieth century - a life shaped by resistance and constant border-crossing, both literal and disciplinary. This background fostered a way of thinking that resisted rigid paradigms and instead embraced complexity and contradiction. Rather than offering grand theories, Hirschman’s work invites reflection and conversation - a method that feels especially vital in a time of growing polarisation.