The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity
$37.83
- Hardcover
96 pages
- Release Date
6 April 2021
Summary
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • An economist explains five laws that confirm our worst fears: stupid people can and do rule the world
“A masterly book” —Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan • “A classic” —Simon Kuper, Financial Times
Throughout history, a powerful force has hindered the growth of human welfare and happiness. It is more powerful than the Mafia or the military. It has global catastrophic effects and can be found anywhere from the world’s …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780385546478 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0385546475 |
| Author: | Carlo M. Cipolla, Nassim Nicholas Taleb |
| Publisher: | Random House USA Inc |
| Imprint: | Doubleday & Co Inc. |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 96 |
| Release Date: | 6 April 2021 |
| Weight: | 142g |
| Dimensions: | 12mm x 119mm x 167mm |
Critics Review
“Cipolla’s subtle tongue-in-cheek humor made this book an underground classic in Italy. Today, under current worldwide political trends, it reads more like black humor. Keep in mind: reliable statistical data shows that 98% of the people seriously believe that they are far less stupid than the average.”
—Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
“Subtly lacerating.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The more you confront actual stupidity in everyday life, the more infuriating it is, whereas the more you contemplate it in the abstract, the more amusing it becomes. Cipolla finds the perfect tone to handle this paradox. On the page, he is arch and slightly annoyed, with a good deal of mock scholarly gravity thrown in…. Cipolla is very droll, and his theories—however deeply he has implanted his tongue in his cheek—have a helpful, clarifying quality.”
—Commentary Magazine
Carlo M. Cipolla
CARLO M. CIPOLLA (1922-2000) was an Italian economic historian, Fulbright Fellow and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Cipolla was awarded the International Balzan Prize for Economic History in 1995 and held honorary degrees in Italy and Switzerland. His classic treatise The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity was first published in 1988 and has been published in more than ten languages. Originally written in English, this is the first time it’s being published in the US.
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