In 1996, Richard Rorty delivered a series of lectures at the University of Girona in Catalonia, Spain. By then, Rorty had long turned away from the problems of traditional philosophy. As the title of these lectures makes plain, Rorty elaborates how to counter authoritarian politics without resorting to grand abstractions or indubitable first principles. Here George Scialabba reviews the lectures (which were published together in 2021), fills out the context of Rorty’s pragmatic approach to politics, and recommends some of Rorty’s books.