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damandang's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Brings up a lot of interesting concepts, explains them well, and overall makes interesting arguments. Sometimes it got a little repetitive but in general I would recommend.
hm08's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I had this book when I was writing my university paper on corruption. This was a captivating and informative look into the cogs and wheels that drive corruption as a social phenomenon and systemic problem.
I thoroughly enjoyed the journey the author takes us on. Many interconnected issues were explored and yet I didn't feel as if the author was "over-reaching". The transition from topics such as the "nature" versus "nurture" debate to evolutionary theories that may why society is drawn to certain types of people over others all made sense. I was extremely fascinated by the author's concise analysis into the age-old adage "absolute power corrupts absolutely".
The author also offers a rather innovative set of solutions that are aimed to go towards ameliorating corruption. By employing in what I perceive to be a "tiered" approach, the author explains corruption to be the result of self-selecting individuals (those who seek power) who reach positions of power and stay in power. The suggestions the author makes thus corresponds to various components of corruption in a systematic fashion.
Overall, a holistic and concise read. I'd be keen to read critiques on the author's analysis and solutions.
I thoroughly enjoyed the journey the author takes us on. Many interconnected issues were explored and yet I didn't feel as if the author was "over-reaching". The transition from topics such as the "nature" versus "nurture" debate to evolutionary theories that may why society is drawn to certain types of people over others all made sense. I was extremely fascinated by the author's concise analysis into the age-old adage "absolute power corrupts absolutely".
The author also offers a rather innovative set of solutions that are aimed to go towards ameliorating corruption. By employing in what I perceive to be a "tiered" approach, the author explains corruption to be the result of self-selecting individuals (those who seek power) who reach positions of power and stay in power. The suggestions the author makes thus corresponds to various components of corruption in a systematic fashion.
Overall, a holistic and concise read. I'd be keen to read critiques on the author's analysis and solutions.
otsolax's review against another edition
5.0
Poskettoman hyvä kirja! Erittäin monipuolinen kuvaus siitä, miten valta vaikuttaa ihmiseen yksilönä ja yhteisönä. Esimerkkejä on todella laajalla mittakaavalla ja taustoitus tarkkaa. Loogisuuteen on panostettu pitkin matkaa ja kirjailija haastaa itseäänkin faktantarkistuksen osalta. Laaja kirja ei käy missään välissä tylsäksi ja opettaa lähes joka kappaleessa lukijaansa. Useassa kohdassa kirjailija systemaattisesti tappaa vääriä käsityksiä, ja vahvistaa oikeita. Paha Valta on matka ihmisyyteen ennen kaikkea. Se on myös konkreettinen kirja siitä, miten eri tilanteissa tulisi toimia parhaimman aikaan saamiseksi. Tätä kirjaa voi suositella aivan jokaiselle.
the_library_of_larry's review against another edition
5.0
Brian Klaas has written one of the most important books I've read. I'll describe it as a slight mix of Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking Fast and Slow" and "The Dictator's Handbook" by Alastair Smith and Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. Klaas basically provides the reader with an understanding of what the hell happened to the world in the last six years or so, for anyone who has been blindsided by the inexplicable rise of corruption, authoritarianism, extremism, and hatred throughout the whole world.
Klaas's take, however, is not centered around the hypothesis that humans are inherently irrational, like Khaneman. Nor is it as narrow as the scope of Smith and Bueno de Mesquita's work in which all leaders are necessarily doomed to want to keep and attract power, no matter whether they are working within democracies or autocracies (incidentally, the subtitle of "The Dictator's Handbook" is: "Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics"). Klaas's mission in this book is to explore the very essence of power, and how the foibles of human rationality, irrationality, emotion, and incentivization can lead to bad people getting and keeping power, which in turn harms society. In a sense, Klaas is able to explain why every bad leader you've ever experienced in your life got there.
We've all been baffled by how certain figures have gotten into power, from politicians to sports coaches to school administrators to your HOA. Klaas demonstrates that it's not just as simple as "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely", though some version of this statement is true. He shows many of the various nuances of how humans gain and keep power, how bad people and psychopaths can manipulate their way to the top, how corrupt societies encourage bad behavior, and how we can in fact fight back against the abuse of power through much needed reform.
I always like a research book that has a solution at the end. Klaas's last chapter delves into the methods for which we should alter our organizations, private and public, in order to prevent corruption, recruit good leaders, and provide a better society for everyone. It's elegant and optimistic, and I'm genuinely shocked he thinks it is possible, especially since this book was published in November 2021 after almost every possible demonstration of the dysfunction of American society has reared its head in recent years.
But perhaps that's why he wrote this book. No doubt Klaas can clearly see as many normal Americans can that many things are critically wrong with the country. His solution, however, tackles the very essence of human organization: who seeks power, who wields power and who keeps power. If such reforms can take place, we'll be well on our way to fixing a lot. It's a good start.
A high recommend from me for this very timely, interesting, and enlightening book!
Klaas's take, however, is not centered around the hypothesis that humans are inherently irrational, like Khaneman. Nor is it as narrow as the scope of Smith and Bueno de Mesquita's work in which all leaders are necessarily doomed to want to keep and attract power, no matter whether they are working within democracies or autocracies (incidentally, the subtitle of "The Dictator's Handbook" is: "Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics"). Klaas's mission in this book is to explore the very essence of power, and how the foibles of human rationality, irrationality, emotion, and incentivization can lead to bad people getting and keeping power, which in turn harms society. In a sense, Klaas is able to explain why every bad leader you've ever experienced in your life got there.
We've all been baffled by how certain figures have gotten into power, from politicians to sports coaches to school administrators to your HOA. Klaas demonstrates that it's not just as simple as "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely", though some version of this statement is true. He shows many of the various nuances of how humans gain and keep power, how bad people and psychopaths can manipulate their way to the top, how corrupt societies encourage bad behavior, and how we can in fact fight back against the abuse of power through much needed reform.
I always like a research book that has a solution at the end. Klaas's last chapter delves into the methods for which we should alter our organizations, private and public, in order to prevent corruption, recruit good leaders, and provide a better society for everyone. It's elegant and optimistic, and I'm genuinely shocked he thinks it is possible, especially since this book was published in November 2021 after almost every possible demonstration of the dysfunction of American society has reared its head in recent years.
But perhaps that's why he wrote this book. No doubt Klaas can clearly see as many normal Americans can that many things are critically wrong with the country. His solution, however, tackles the very essence of human organization: who seeks power, who wields power and who keeps power. If such reforms can take place, we'll be well on our way to fixing a lot. It's a good start.
A high recommend from me for this very timely, interesting, and enlightening book!
shoelessmama's review against another edition
4.0
This book was exactly what it purported to be. Entertaining and informative it laid out the information in an easy to follow ordered way. There isn't much that's actionable for me personally on this topic- more broad strokes of what we as a society need to do to keep corrupt/corruptible people out of power. There was no part of this book that attacked any particular party, but a few indisputable despots were detailed or mentioned. I say this because the lone one starred (at the moment of this reading) reviewer said this book was biased. I'm not sure how it is biased unless it's biased towards sociopaths, and even then I felt he was more than fair in his comments. I don't have much more to say except that the author narrated the audiobook which doesn't always work out but in this instance it was well done.