Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference FalsificationPreference falsification, according to the economist Timur Kuran, is the act of misrepresenting one's wants under perceived social pressures. It happens frequently in everyday life, such as when we tell the host of a dinner party that we are enjoying the food when we actually find it bland. In Private Truths, Public Lies Kuran argues convincingly that the phenomenon not only is ubiquitous but has huge social and political consequences. Drawing on diverse intellectual traditions, including those rooted in economics, psychology, sociology, and political science, Kuran provides a unified theory of how preference falsification shapes collective decisions, orients structural change, sustains social stability, distorts human knowledge, and conceals political possibilities. |
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... Havel's own lifetime . The altruism explanation raises the question of why anyone would have wanted to incur the ... Havel remained pessimistic about the chances of mean- ingful political change . Finally , the ethical commitment ...
... Havel , had dissented on ear- lier occasions . They were the activists who , having formed an anti- regime vanguard ... Havel was defiant . We may never understand exactly why Havel demanded so much of himself while most of his ...
... Havel , " The Power of the Powerless , " in Havel et al . , The Power of the Powerless : Citizens against the State in Central - Eastern Eu- rope , ed . John Keane and trans . Paul Wilson ( Armonk , N.Y .: M. E. Sharpe , 1985 ; orig ...
Contents
Collective Conservatism | 105 |
The Obstinacy of Communism | 118 |
The Ominous Perseverance of the Caste System | 128 |
Copyright | |
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