Homo Empathicus: On Scapegoats, Populists, and Saving Democracy

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

How societies can preserve democracy with a human-directed social contract.

The recent rise of populist movements, especially in Western democracies, has prompted considerable thoughtful analysis. This remarkable book, digging deeper than most such efforts, cites the global financial crisis as the proximate cause but finds the ultimate source in the twin failures of modern capitalism and the democratic state to fulfill a meaningful social contract for the vast majority of people.

The book's focus on the financial crisis underscores how the promises of liberal democracy were repeatedly broken by financial and political elites, with a backlash emerging in the form of 'us-against-them' populism. By undermining the hopes and livelihoods of millions of people, the crisis created its own narrative, with consequences capable of causing lasting damage to the liberal world order.

To restore the values of liberal democracy, the author proposes a 'truly human social contract' supported by a narrative of empathy. The basis of such a contract is a new view of civil and social rights as an expression of human dignity, with economic factors understood as moral concerns, not just as a matter of who gets the most.

Reviews

Alexander Grlach looks out over our tribal world and offers a diagnosis and a corrective. Resentment has given rise to a surge of populism that is eroding the principles that hold democracies together. The need to see each other as fellow citizens, to talk to and understand others, is essential to restore community and civility."- Steven Pinker, Johnstone Family Professor, Department of Psychology, Harvard University;

"The battle between free, democratic societies and authoritarian governments is already ongoing. Reading Homo Empathicus, you understand why self-proclaimed strongmen fight freedom so fiercely: because freedom is the better model! To ensure that democracy prevails, the free world needs to stand united against the authoritarian threat and protect vulnerable places like Hong Kong and Taiwan."- Joshua Wong, democracy activist, Hong Kong;

"Homo Empathicus shows us how populist responses to the economic disruptions of the early 2000s took on the mantle of identity and nationalism, to create a toxic brew. Grlach suggests a way out: empathy is the antidote, neutralizing the fears and anger at the other and making dignity and respect for fellow citizens the centerpiece of a constructive politics."- Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of Government, Harvard University; co-author of How Democracies Die;

"Alexander Grlach makes the case for empathy in any just society. He defends with passion and thoughtfulness a cosmopolitan worldview that perceives others not as us-versus-them, but with an open mind. Identity in his world unites without dividingand has the dignity of every person at its heart."- Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy and law, New York University; author of Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers and The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity

Author Bio

Alexander Grlach is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He served in various positions at both Harvard and Cambridge University. Alex holds PhDs in linguistic and in comparative religion. He is an op-ed contributor to the New York Times.