Political hypocrisy : the mask of power, from Hobbes to Orwell and beyond
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Political hypocrisy : the mask of power, from Hobbes to Orwell and beyond
Princeton University Press, c2008
- : hardcover
- : pbk
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Note
Based on the Carlyle lectures at Oxford University during February-March 2007
Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-258) and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: hardcover ISBN 9780691129310
Description
What kind of hypocrite should voters choose as their next leader? The question seems utterly cynical. But, as David Runciman suggests, it is actually much more cynical to pretend that politics can ever be completely sincere. The most dangerous form of political hypocrisy is to claim to have a politics without hypocrisy. "Political Hypocrisy" is a timely, and timeless, book on the problems of sincerity and truth in politics, and how we can deal with them without slipping into hypocrisy ourselves. Runciman tackles the problems through lessons drawn from some of the great truth-tellers in modern political thought - Hobbes, Mandeville, Jefferson, Bentham, Sidgwick, and Orwell - and applies his ideas to different kinds of hypocritical politicians from Oliver Cromwell to Hillary Clinton.Runciman argues that we should accept hypocrisy as a fact of politics, but without resigning ourselves to it, let alone cynically embracing it. We should stop trying to eliminate every form of hypocrisy, and we should stop vainly searching for ideally authentic politicians.
Instead, we should try to distinguish between harmless and harmful hypocrisies and should worry only about its most damaging varieties. Written in a lively style, this book will change how we look at political hypocrisy and how we answer some basic questions about politics: What are the limits of truthfulness in politics? And when, where, and how should we expect our politicians to be honest with us, and about what?
Table of Contents
Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Hobbes and the Mask of Power 16 Chapter 2: Mandeville and the Virtues of Vice 45 Chapter 3: The American Revolution and the Art of Sincerity 74 Chapter 4: Bentham and the Utility of Fiction 116 Chapter 5: Victorian Democracy and Victorian Hypocrisy 142 Chapter 6: Orwell and the Hypocrisy of Ideology 168 Conclusion: Sincerity and Hypocrisy in Democratic Politics 194 Notes 227 Bibliography 245 Index 259
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780691148151
Description
What kind of hypocrite should voters choose as their next leader? The question seems utterly cynical. But, as David Runciman suggests, it is actually much more cynical to pretend that politics can ever be completely sincere. The most dangerous form of political hypocrisy is to claim to have a politics without hypocrisy. Political Hypocrisy is a timely, and timeless, book on the problems of sincerity and truth in politics, and how we can deal with them without slipping into hypocrisy ourselves. Runciman tackles the problems through lessons drawn from some of the great truth-tellers in modern political thought--Hobbes, Mandeville, Jefferson, Bentham, Sidgwick, and Orwell--and applies his ideas to different kinds of hypocritical politicians from Oliver Cromwell to Hillary Clinton. Runciman argues that we should accept hypocrisy as a fact of politics, but without resigning ourselves to it, let alone cynically embracing it. We should stop trying to eliminate every form of hypocrisy, and we should stop vainly searching for ideally authentic politicians. Instead, we should try to distinguish between harmless and harmful hypocrisies and should worry only about its most damaging varieties.
Written in a lively style, this book will change how we look at political hypocrisy and how we answer some basic questions about politics: What are the limits of truthfulness in politics? And when, where, and how should we expect our politicians to be honest with us, and about what?
Table of Contents
Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Hobbes and the Mask of Power 16 Chapter 2: Mandeville and the Virtues of Vice 45 Chapter 3: The American Revolution and the Art of Sincerity 74 Chapter 4: Bentham and the Utility of Fiction 116 Chapter 5: Victorian Democracy and Victorian Hypocrisy 142 Chapter 6: Orwell and the Hypocrisy of Ideology 168 Conclusion: Sincerity and Hypocrisy in Democratic Politics 194 Notes 227 Bibliography 245 Index 259
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