Call It Evil (understanding The Trump Era)

By (author) Neiman, Susan
Short description/annotation:
The eminent moral philosopher Susan Neiman shows how naming and confronting evil is essential for preserving democracy in an age of demagogues
Description:
Call It Evil is a bold reckoning with one of the most fraught words in our vocabulary. Far from being a religious or outdated concept, evil is a vital lens, Susan Neiman argues, through which to understand the threats we face today.  Neiman is one of our most important philosophers on the nature and question of evil. She opens this sharp, revelatory work with the idea that the reelection of Donald Trump is the outcome not simply of political and economic forces but the erosion of values that have been subject to derision for more than a century. She goes on to show how we have been quietly bombarded from all sides with messages that undermine basic moral principles. Neiman then explores how that ancient view, first formulated by pre-Socratic philosophers, has been steadily promoted by corporate interests and (pseudo) scientists in the modern era. Drawing on history—from European fascism to the moral failures of recent U.S. leaders—she demonstrates how the normalisation of evil corrodes trust, destroys justice and endangers our future. This is a book for readers who refuse to accept moral confusion as the price of political life, and who believe that confronting evil is the first step toward renewing it.
Review quote:
"[A] potent treatise… Defining evil as ‘an idea that arises whenever the gap between the way the world is and the way the world ought to be becomes too big to bear,’ Neiman forcefully argues that the Trump administration warrants the term’s usage… The result is a clarifying reflection on the current moment’s profound crisis of conscience."
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"This is not a book about Donald Trump; it is about the conditions that have allowed him to prevail. Neiman has tackled the subject of evil before… but never as compellingly and comprehensively as here… Every sentence is worth reading in this compelling book. For readers who are horrified and want to understand how we got here, this book is an absolute must."
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"[A] probing cultural critique"
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"In a book that is as brilliant as it is bracing, Susan Neiman takes on one of the most fraught of all concepts: evil. The term has been appropriated by those who practice it—a justification for atrocity. But as Neiman reveals in this wonderfully readable and passionately urgent anatomy of the present crisis, those who believe in democracy, law, and morality have to take it back. Call It Evil shows us not just why we should do it but how."
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"Susan Neiman argues that the Trump era demands a word most of us have been trained to avoid: evil. Not the gothic, tabloid kind, but something more dangerous—the now-common conviction that self-interest is the only real human motive and power is all that matters. Tracing how this cynical worldview got to be called ‘common sense,’ Neiman shows why naming it is the first step toward defeating it."
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"Susan Neiman’s new book is a revelation—not just a cry of outrage at an immoral American political administration but a cry of outrage at an entire postwar order and its wicked premises: profit, power, and the punishment of the most vulnerable."
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"In an age of mealy-mouthed capitulation, Susan Neiman brings bracing moral clarity, erudition and deep thinking to the problem of how to define evil and what to do about it."
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"Susan Neiman isn’t afraid to use moral language while we, still shocked by today’s United States, are tempted to sane-wash. But Neiman is stronger, and she says the absolutely right word: evil. Her word bites, as it also sets us back on the road to justice."
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