The Playbook
How to Deny Science, Sell Lies, and Make a Killing in the Corporate World
-
- USD 4.99
-
- USD 4.99
Descripción editorial
From an astute observer of business behavior and expert in climate denial comes a thought-provoking explanation of how corporations delay, distract, and deflect blame and spread disinformation surrounding health issues, pollution, and climate change.
“Brilliantly subversive and witty. If you want to be a vile, greedy capitalist, this how-to book will be a great help. And if you want to identify vile, greedy capitalists, it will show you how to recognize them. A landmark book.” —Brian Eno
Are you a corporation out to make your fortune at any cost? Are you worried about “facts” and “experts” getting in the way of your profits? Do you wish you could make scientists, journalists, and anyone who asks questions about your suspect business practices disappear? Now you can.
Whether you are selling tobacco, dealing in oil, or pushing pharmaceuticals, denying climate change or exploiting workers, The Playbook is here to help you obfuscate your way to what you want.
Including how to: Massage the statistics to suit your needs. Or, even better, fund studies to make up some new onesAttract and cultivate university professors who have an axe to grind and are short of cashMake your problem somebody else’s problem—ideally the government’sRemember: Tame journalists, PR firms, think tanks, lawyers, and threats of physical violence are your friends!
Follow these rules and you are guaranteed to make a killing. It’s economic sense, after all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jacquet (Is Shame Necessary?), a professor of environmental studies at NYU, delivers a tongue-in-cheek guide for corporate leaders seeking to mislead the public and dodge regulatory efforts. Fashioned as a strategy manual, Jacquet's satirical advice explains how to achieve greater effectiveness in the goals of misdirection and obfuscation. For example, she documents how trade associations, public relations specialists, and private investigators can help challenge the credibility of scientists and reporters, noting that the Koch brothers hired a former New York City police commissioner to dig up dirt on New Yorker journalist Jane Mayer. Elsewhere, Jacquet offers instructions for attracting and retaining university experts in the defense of corporate causes. Emphasizing that public communication is crucial to protecting corporate interest and amplifying scientific doubt, she details how to challenge the existence of a problem, the integrity of those who raise it, and the need for policies to address it. A list of "near-term threats" to these tactics—including stricter university disclosure policies and better public education about the processes of disinformation—doubles as a checklist of reforms. Though some of the nuance between sincere and cynical expressions of scientific doubt gets lost, this whip-smart and delightfully snarky exposé gives readers the tools to recognize and refute corporate deception.
