How Change Happens
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- US$13.99
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An “illuminating” study that reveals the different ways social change occurs—for readers of Freakonomics and Thinking, Fast and Slow (The New York Times)
How does social change happen? When do social movements take off? Sexual harassment was once something that women had to endure; now a movement has risen up against it. White nationalist sentiments, on the other hand, were largely kept out of mainstream discourse; now there is no shortage of media outlets for them. In this book, with the help of behavioral economics, psychology, and other fields, Cass Sunstein casts a bright new light on how change happens.
Sunstein focuses on the crucial role of social norms—and on their frequent collapse. When norms lead people to silence themselves, even an unpopular status quo can persist. Then one day, someone challenges the norm—a child who exclaims that the emperor has no clothes; a woman who says “me too.” Sometimes suppressed outrage is unleashed, and long-standing practices fall.
Sometimes change is more gradual, as “nudges” help produce new and different decisions—apps that count calories; texted reminders of deadlines; automatic enrollment in green energy or pension plans. Sunstein explores what kinds of nudges are effective and shows why nudges sometimes give way to bans and mandates. Finally, he considers social divisions, social cascades, and “partyism,” when identification with a political party creates a strong bias against all members of an opposing party—which can both fuel and block social change.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this dense and technical, but illuminating, work influenced by behavioral science and political philosophy, legal scholar and policy theorist Sunstein (Nudge) further develops his ideas on how changes in attitude and behavior ought to happen. As in his previous works, Sunstein argues that, rather than relying upon blunt policy instruments such as bans and mandates, "choice architects" can often effectively accomplish their desired outcomes using less coercive mechanisms ("nudges"). He first explores how and why social norms regulate behavior, particularly how people who challenge social norms provoke shifts in attitudes and behavior after others discover that a previously constraining norm has lost its force. He considers the ethical ramifications of the "libertarian paternalist" approach toward policy, which seeks to promote individual and collective welfare while preserving choice, ultimately declaring that "choice architecture" is unavoidable: life itself nudges people. In the final, most accessible section, Sunstein engages a selection of more specific problems, including the potential flaws in relying upon mental shortcuts in moral decision-making. This is a work that demands but rewards the reader's full attention. Readers who lack a background in behavioral economics or philosophy may find themselves questioning some of these disciplines' assumptions about human nature, but Sunstein's cautious and judicious discussion of these topics is worth consideration.
