Sunstein, Cass R

"Liars are causing devastating problems. They are endangering public health. They are threatening self-government. They are destroying the reputation of good people - and inflating the reputation of people who are not so good. Nonetheless, falsehoods ought not to be censored or regulated, even if they are lies. Free societies allow them. Public officials should not be allowed to act as the truth police. A key reason is that we cannot trust officials to separate truth from falsehood; their own judgments are unreliable, and their own biases get in the way. If officials are licensed to punish falsehoods, they will end up punishing dissent. The best response to falsehoods is usually to correct them, rather than to punish or censor them. At the same time, governments should have the power to regulate the most harmful lies and falsehoods. In brief: False statements are not constitutionally protected if the government can show that they threaten to cause serious harm. Public officials should be able to restrict and punish lies and falsehoods that pose serious threats to public health and safety. To protect the democratic process, public officials should be able to restrict certain lies and falsehoods. They should be able to safeguard people's reputations. Private institutions, including television networks, magazines, and newspapers, and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, should be doing much more to slow or stop the spread of lies and falsehoods"--Provided by publisher.

Explores how social media has affected the process of democracy and political discourse in the modern developed world, arguing that social media companies, like Facebook, have accidentally but predictably created online echo chambers so that our political and philosophical viewpoints are no longer regularly or at all challenged. Offers ideas for revamping the Internet and social media to make it friendlier to political discourse.

Explores the lessons of the Star Wars films as they relate to childhood, parents, rebellion, and redemption. Also discusses the films' relevance to economics, law, and political uprising.

Presents fourteen essays on animal rights topics of debate and strategies for increasing animals' rights, including works by Peter Singer, Richard A. Posner, and Cass R. Sunstein.

Explains why organizations and nations are more likely to prosper if they welcome dissent and promote openness, demonstrating that corporations, legislatures, and even presidents are likely to blunder if they do not cultivate a culture of candor and disclosure.

A legal scholar who for decades has been at the forefront of applied behavioral economics, Cass Sunstein is one of the world's most innovative thinkers in the world of practical politics, a man who cuts through the fog of left vs. right arguments and offers logical, evidence-based, and often surprising solutions to today's most challenging questions. This is a collection of his most famous, insightful, relevant, and inflammatory columns. Within these pages you will learn: why rational people sometimes believe crazy conspiracy theories; what wealthy countries should and should not do about climate change; why governments should allow same-sex marriage, and what the "right to marry" is all about; why animals have rights (and what that means); why we "misfear," meaning get scared when we should be unconcerned and are unconcerned when we should get scared; what kinds of losses make us miserable, and what kinds of losses are absolutely fine; how to find the balance between religious freedom and gender equality; and much more.

Examines the relationship between free markets and social justice through the exploration of seven basic themes, including the myth of laissez-faire, and the puzzle of human rationality, and argues that people's choices and judgments often vary from what traditional economists predict and must be considered when designing policies.