Politics in Time

History, Institutions, and Social Analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID6323868
AuthorsRichard Bensel, Richard Franklin Bensel (0000-0001-9316-7675, Cornell University, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume3
Issue3
Pages647-648
Publication date2005-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeREVIEW
Review ofPolitics in Time: History, Institutions, and Social Analysis, Paul Pierson, 2004
VenuePerspectives on Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1537-5927 • E-ISSN: 1541-0986
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1537592705520255
OpenAlexW2152404628
LanguageEN

Politics in Time: History, Institutions, and Social Analysis. By Paul Pierson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004. 108p. $49.50 cloth, $19.95 paper.Paul Pierson opens his book with a fictional metaphor in which he imagines “the trendiest new restaurant in town, charmingly named ‘The Modern Social Scientist.’” He invites you to tour the restaurant as “the chef explains that the kitchen is divided into two parts.” On one side, the chef proudly points out the ingredients, called “variables.” On the other side are lovingly arrayed an “extraordinary profusion of measuring devices.” In order to prepare your favorite culinary delight, all the chef need do is combine the correct ingredients, properly measured and calibrated. In this kitchen, the length of time in which the variables are cooked, the order in which the ingredients are combined, and the relative skill of the chef are unimportant to the preparation of the meal. (Later on, the book makes it clear that the specialty of this particular establishment is something called the “multiple regression.”) Pierson concludes this metaphor with the observation that “[f]ew would want to patronize a restaurant with such a philosophy of cooking, but most social scientists are working in that kind of kitchen” (p. 1

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