Abstract

I agree with Karl Popper that piecemeal engineering is a requirement for peer review, social learning and social transformation. While piecemeal engineering is intended primarily to detect social problems, and assess the results of public policies with the aim of solving them in bits and pieces, in this paper, I defend a modified view of Popper’s thesis. I argue the position that social reforms often require “many pieces at once” social engineering. The justification of this modified Popperian thesis on piecemeal social engineering is based on four overlapping arguments: it seems too slow for piecemeal social engineering to have significant consequences on radical institutional changes; it is difficult to see what effect small piecemeal changes can have in achieving noticeable consequences in changing society; the magnitude of real-life situations often requires that social reform be undertaken through many pieces at once; and while Popper’s piecemeal social engineering only seems most sensible where societies are more technologically advanced and are already deeply developed, societies that are less developed require faster, “many pieces at once” sweeping political change.