Hypocrisy.
The desire to root out hypocrites is central to our politics, our purchases and our everyday lives.
The strange thing is that we don’t really understand what “hypocrisy” means…
Everyone hates hypocrites. Nothing stings like being accused of hypocrisy, and it’s all too easy to spot in others. Even a brief glance at the news confirms that hypocrisy plays a major role in the increasing polarization of our politics.
Calling out hypocrisy is second nature to us. It’s intuitive. We see it in others every day and, much less often, we ruefully recognize it in ourselves. Hypocrisy shapes our societies: who we trust, what we tolerate, how we strive for something better.
But the way we call out hypocrisy is also a trap - and it’s closing around us rapidly. The desire to crush hypocrisy only breeds more of it. Overusing accusations exhausts their force, leaving people freer to pursue power without principles.
This book shows how we can escape this trap – if we use new insights to rethink hypocrisy. Since we can never kill hypocrisy completely, we need a new guide for which kinds we tolerate and which we target.
Hypocrisy will offer the first accessible book that explains why hypocrisy matters, why causes us to react the way we do, and how we can see it more clearly in our everyday lives. Readers will discover:
The hidden drivers that determine when we call out hypocrisy, and when we don’t.
How they can become less hypocritical in their own choices and behavior.
Why we urgently need to rethink hypocrisy in order to bring groups together and understand each other better.