Synopses & Reviews
Updated with a new afterword Free cable television. Imaginary tax deductions. Movies and music downloadable on your home computer. Do you take your chance to cheat? David Callahan thinks many of us would: witness corporate scandals, doping athletes, plagiarizing journalists. Why all the cheating? Why now?
Callahan blames the dog-eat-dog climate of the past twenty years: An unfettered market and unprecedented economic inequality have corroded our values and threaten to corrupt the equal opportunity we cherish. Callahan's "Winning Class" has created a separate moral reality where it cheats without consequences -- while the "Anxious Class" believes choosing not to cheat could cancel its only shot at success in a winner-take-all world.
Analyzing the very latest scandals, The Cheating Culture takes us on a gripping tour of cheating in America and makes a powerful case for why it matters.
"Everything you ever wanted to know about what's gone wrong with ethics in our society is explained in David Callahan's remarkable and readable new book. For its meticulously researched, thoughtful and damning look at our broken moral compass, this should be required reading . . . This is one of those rare books that will make you mad, ashamed, and one may hope, determined to change."--Philadelphia Inquirer
David Callahan is cofounder of the public policy center Demos, where he is a senior fellow. He is the author of five previous books, and his articles have appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today. He received a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University and lives in New York City. Look for more information about cheating on his Web site, www.cheatingculture.com.
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"A damning and persuasive critique of America's new economic life."
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"The author provides persuasive evidence that our society is riddled with dishonesty."
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"Callahan's on to something: an ingrained and growing national compulsion to succeed at any cost."
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"Hair-raising. [P]acked with alarming anecdotes."
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"Callahan compiles a meticulous mountain of data about our current state of disgrace."
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"A breathtaking book."
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"A breathtaking book."(Los Angeles Times)
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"Hair-raising. [P]acked with alarming anecdotes." (Salon.com)
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"Dozens of books have examined this phenomenon. None I have yet seen does it with [this] anger, vigor and persuasiveness."
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PRAISE FOR THE CHEATING CULTURE
"It's not exactly hot news that many Americans cheat . . . But there is much reason to believe that these days, as David Callahan puts it, 'cheating is everywhere.' . . . Watch what we do, not what we say or read; our real-world Book of Virtues is in serious need of rewriting." -Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post
"Read this book for [Callahan's] eye-opening portrait of the way we live now, his sobering analysis of how we got here and his prescient warning of where we may be headed if we don't get back our bearings."-Los Angeles Times
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"A breathtaking book." --Esquire
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"On-target analysis of how this noxious and, in the true sense, un-American corruption came to infect our culture."
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"This should be required reading for every high school and college student, and anyone who's ever complained about how bad things have gotten."
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"Highly readable. Callahan has done us a good turn by confronting the question of 'why do Americans do wrong?' "
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"Well-constructed, civic-minded…full of compelling statistics and anecdotes."
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PRAISE FOR KINDRED SPIRITS
"As Americans wrestle with how to fix what has gone wrong in the system of corporate governance, the message that can be taken from Kindred Spirits is that there may be no quick fixes."--The New York Times
"David Callahan gives us an intriguing, incredibly detailed look at the values, work ethic, and creative minds that characterized this group of businessmen."-USA Today
Synopsis
Cheating on every level--from highly publicized corporate scandals to Little League fraud--has risen dramatically in recent decades. Why all the cheating? Why now?
You're standing at an ATM. It can't access account information but allows unlimited withdrawals. Do you take more than your balance? David Callahan thinks most of us would.
Callahan pins the blame on the dog-eat-dog economic climate of the past two decades. An unfettered market and unprecedented economic inequality have corroded our values, he argues--and ultimately threaten the level playing field so central to American democracy itself. Through revealing interviews and extensive data, he takes us on a gripping tour of cheating in America and offers a powerful argument for why it matters.
Lucidly written, scrupulously argued, The Cheating Culture is an important, original examination of the hidden costs of the boom years.
Synopsis
Free cable television. Imaginary tax deductions. Do you take your chance to cheat? David Callahan thinks many of us would; witness corporate scandals, doping athletes, plagiarizing journalists. Why all the cheating? Why now?
Callahan blames the dog-eat-dog economic climate of the past twenty years: An unfettered market and unprecedented economic inequality have corroded our values and threaten to corrupt the equal opportunity we cherish. Callahan's "Winning Class" has created a separate moral reality where it cheats without consequences-while the "Anxious Class" believes choosing not to cheat could cancel its only shot at success in a winner-take-all world.
Updated with a new afterword analyzing the latest on cheating from the Martha Stewart trial to the Tyco and Enron sentencings, The Cheating Culture takes us on a gripping tour of cheating in America and makes a powerful case for why it matters.
Synopsis
You're standing at an ATM. It can't access account information but allows unlimited withdrawals. Do you take more than your balance? David Callahan thinks most of us would. While there have always been those who cut corners, he shows that cheating on every level-from the highly publicized corporate scandals to Little League fraud-has risen dramatically in the last two decades. Why all the cheating? Why now? Callahan pins the blame on the dog-eat-dog economic climate of the past two decades. An unfettered market and unprecedented economic inequality have corroded our values, he argues-and ultimately threaten the level playing field so central to American democracy itself. Through revealing interviews and extensive data, he takes us on a gripping tour of cheating in America and offers a powerful argument for why it matters. Lucidly written, scrupulously argued, The Cheating Culture is an important, original examination of the hidden costs of the boom years.
About the Author
David Callahan is cofounder and director of research at the public policy center Demos. The author of five books, he has published articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today, and has been a frequent commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. He received a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University and lives in New York City.
Table of Contents
contents
Preface vii
"Everybody Does It"
Cheating in a Bottom-line Economy
Whatever It Takes
A Question of Character
Temptation Nation
Trickle-down Corruption
Cheating from the Starting Line
Crime and No Punishment
Dodging Brazil 259
Sources 297
Endnotes 303
Index 337