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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... favor , collapsing instantly when street crowds mustered the courage to rise against them . For another example ... favors 0 over 100 by a margin of 7 to 3 . favorable private opinion is neither necessary nor sufficient for the Private ...
... favor both tra- ditional " family values " as understood by the fundamentalists and " women's liberation " as understood by organized feminists . In fact , neither group's far - reaching agenda commands anything near ma- jority support ...
... favor A , and this is all that matters . Never mind whether the pro - A arguments are cogent or accurate . What is relevant to social proof is only that A appears to have broader support . As public discourse shifts in favor of A , then ...
Contents
Collective Conservatism | 105 |
The Obstinacy of Communism | 118 |
The Ominous Perseverance of the Caste System | 128 |
Copyright | |
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