The deceptive activist - Martin, Brian
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In your action group, is it ever beneficial to lie to other members? When is it wise to lie to authorities? If a member of your group has done something wrong, is it better to be open about it now or keep it hidden in the hope that outsiders will never know? What are the pros and cons of infiltrating opposition groups to collect information about harmful activities? Should we wear masks at rallies? There's lots of research showing that lying is an everyday occurrence in most people's lives, and furthermore that lies can be beneficial in some circumstances. But they can also be very damaging,…mehr

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Produktbeschreibung
In your action group, is it ever beneficial to lie to other members? When is it wise to lie to authorities? If a member of your group has done something wrong, is it better to be open about it now or keep it hidden in the hope that outsiders will never know? What are the pros and cons of infiltrating opposition groups to collect information about harmful activities? Should we wear masks at rallies? There's lots of research showing that lying is an everyday occurrence in most people's lives, and furthermore that lies can be beneficial in some circumstances. But they can also be very damaging, especially lies by authorities. The Deceptive Activist introduces key ideas about lying and deception and then provides a series of case studies in which activists need to decide what to do. There are no final answers, but it is important to address the questions.
Autorenporträt
My friend Jørgen lives in Sweden. We usually use email to communicate, and occasionally connect on Skype. One time, he was in a pessimistic mood about world developments - the war in Ukraine, global warming, racism and so on - and said, "Brian, tell me something positive. What's getting better?" Put on the spot, what did I think of? Smoking and nonviolent action. Perhaps I should have made a joke, but I couldn't think of one. Jørgen's question hit the mark, because I had just started studying whether things have been getting better -or worse. Some young people are so depressed by the prospect of climate catastrophe that they don't want to have children. In contrast, others say we've never had it so good, so we should stop complaining and appreciate our good fortune. I had studied research on happiness. One of the important findings is that most people have their own personal "set point." After changes in their external circumstances, such as a promotion or a serious accident, they tend to return, after several months, to roughly the same happiness level as before. Figures from several countries show that when the per-capita standard of living increases dramatically, average happiness self-ratings hardly change. So maybe things are getting better, but we don't appreciate it. Or maybe they're getting worse, and we adjust to that. Or maybe both: some things are getting better and some worse. That, logically, seems the most likely possibility. There's a systematic bias in my assessments, specifically in the movements I favour. This includes, for example, feminists and peace activists. You might have different priorities, and that's fine. You can come up with different conclusions, and I hope you do on at least some topics. One of the best ways to really understand issues is to engage with clashing viewpoints. So, is the world getting better or is it going down the drain?