Recent experiments on K$_3$C$_{60}$ and layered copper-oxide materials have reported substantial changes in the optical response following application of an intense THz pulse. These data have been interpreted as the stimulation of a transient superconducting state even at temperatures well above the equilibrium transition temperature. We propose an alternative phenomenology based on the assumption that the pulse creates a non-superconducting, though non-equilibrium situation in which the linear response conductivity is negative. The negative conductivity implies that the spatially uniform pre-pulse state is unstable and evolves to a new state with a spontaneous electric polarization. This state exhibits coupled oscillations of entropy and electric charge whose coupling to incident probe radiation modifies the reflectivity, leading to an apparently superconducting-like response that resembles the data. Dependencies of the reflectivity on polarization and angle of incidence of the probe are predicted and other experimental consequences are discussed.

5 pages, 3 figures