Is Shame Necessary: New Uses for an Old Tool

(Paperback)

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Description

Forget shame being a bad thing - this galvanizing book shows how it could be the answer to our most urgent social and political problems In cultures that champion the individual, guilt is seen as the cornerstone of conscience yet it proves impotent in the face of corrupt corporate policies. Jennifer Jacquet persuasively argues that modern-day shaming is a non-violent form of resistance that can be used to bring about large-scale change. Shaming, Jacquet shows, works best when used sparingly, but when applied in just the right way and at just the right time, it can keep us from failing ourselves.

Reviews

Thought-provoking treatise on the soft power of opprobrium, and its important role in achieving social cohesion in an ever more individualised culture... timely and urgent * Economist *
Intelligent and provocative... The prospect of shame is a powerful social corrective * Daily Telegraph *
Thoughtful and measured * Huffington Post *
Shaming is society's natural stabilizer and organic risk-management mechanism, and one that is ignored in modernity, particularly in the virtual world. Worse: it has been largely ignored by researchers before Jennifer Jacquet, whose book gives us an insightful treatment of a vital topic -- Nassim Taleb, author of 'Antifragile'
This is a wonderful, important and timely book. It shows us that the glue that really holds society together is not laws and diktats but honour and shame -- Brian Eno, Long Now Foundation

Author Bio

Jennifer Jacquet is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at New York University and the author of the acclaimed Is Shame Necessary