Is Shame Necessary?: New Uses for an Old Tool

by Jennifer Jacquet

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Author: Jennifer Jacquet

Publisher: Vintage

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 0307950131
ISBN 13: 978-0307950130

A trenchant case for the use of public shaming as a nonviolent form of resistance, Is Shame Necessary? explores how one of society’s oldest tools can be used to promote large-scale political change and social reform. Examining how we can retrofit the art of shaming for the age of social media, Jennifer Jacquet shows that we can challenge corporations and even governments to change policies and behaviors that are detrimental to the environment. Urgent and illuminating, Is Shame Necessary? offers an entirely new understanding of how shame, when applied in the right way and at the right time, has the capacity to keep us from failing our planet and, ultimately, from failing ourselves.

Review

“Powerful. . . . An incisive argument. . . . [Jacquet’s] results are fascinating.” —Chicago Tribune

“A sharp dissection. . . . [Jacquet] exposes the ways shame plays into collective ideas of punishment and reward, and the social mechanisms that dictate the ways we dictate our behavior.” —The Boston Globe

“Thought-provoking.” —The Economist

“This wonderful, important, and timely book shows us that the glue that really holds society together is not laws and diktats but honor and shame. Jennifer Jacquet has identified and articulated the social tools by which it might just be possible to encourage better long-term behavior from those big players . . . who are otherwise able to find their way around the law.” —Brian Eno

“Provocative. . . . Jacquet systematically explores the nature of shaming and some of the psychological evidence that shows why it works. In doing so, she makes a strong case for the value of shaming for shaping and enforcing social norms.” —New Scientist

“[Jacquet’s] arguments are backed by interesting research and her moral conviction is refreshing, particularly given how destructive the emotion she analyzes can be.” —Los Angeles Times

“[Is Shame Necessary?] mines the possibilities of shame to be used as an agent for positive change. Where the book lands is as unexpected as it is revelatory.” —Gawker

“In this thought-provoking, wonderfully readable book, Jacquet argues that shaming is far from obsolete and can be an effective weapon wielded by the weak against the strong.” —Robert Sapolsky, author of A Primate’s Memoir

“[Jacquet’s] argument is supported with persuasive stories and a thumping set of statistics.” —The Daily Telegraph

“[A] concise, well-paced, relevant, and witty work”. —Brooklyn Rail

“Shame is no longer unfashionable, thanks to Jennifer Jacquet. This book describes, in sparkling prose, how important a sense of shame is to civilized life.” —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow

“Thoughtful and measured.” —Huffington Post

“A book that gives shame a good name—and just in time—because it reinforces our better angels, cements our communities, and, crucially, because our planet needs us to feel it. Well argued, beautifully written, sophisticated, and down to earth.” —Sherry Turkle, author of Alone Together

“A sharp examination of the role shaming plays in our society and its effectiveness as a tool for change.” —ParisReview.org

“Intellectually stimulating. . . . A sharp and surprising dissertation.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Jacquet trenchantly and engagingly analyzes how we might resurrect one public emotion—shame—and put it to good use in our collective lives, influencing public discourse and public policy.” —Nicholas Christakis, coauthor of Connected

“[A] diligent examination.” —Financial Times

“An astute how-to and defense of shame. . . . After describing useful techniques for applying shame, the book turns to the specific areas where it could be put to good use.” —Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Jennifer Jacquet is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at New York University and recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan fellowship. She works at the intersection of conservation and cooperation, focusing on the human dimensions of large-scale social dilemmas, such as overfishing and climate change. She lives in New York.

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Is Shame Necessary?: New Uses for an Old Tool