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Why Societies Need Dissent (Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures)
Why Societies Need Dissent - Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures Author:Cass R. Sunstein In this timely book, Cass R. Sunstein shows that organizations and nations are far more likely to prosper if they welcome dissent and promote openness. Attacking "political correctness" in all forms, Sunstein demonstrates that corporations, legislatures, even presidents are likely to blunder if they do not cultivate a culture of cand... more »or and disclosure. "Why Societies Need Dissent … shows that demands for lock-step conformity are wrong and uninformed thinking. Sunstein's important new study is filled with empirical evidence of the significance of opposition, found in his compelling explanations of the need for, and benefits of, disagreement. Sunstein reveals that, in fact, the influence of dissenters is for the better." —John W. Dean, Los Angeles Times Book Review "As Cass Sunstein argues in Why Societies Need Dissent, we all pay a steep price when dissent is muzzled … Sunstein is implicitly raising a red flag about the deepening partisanship of American culture. A people cordoning themselves off from one another—listening to radio programs and reading books that parrot rather than test their assumptions—spells trouble. So does the growing polarization of our two major parties, which are increasingly dominated by their fringes. Sunstein combines these insights with the results of research in clinical psychology to show the costs and perils of stifled dissent." —Mitchell Goodman, Raleigh News and Observer« less