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How to Tame the Political Animal: The Missing Piece
What’s behind the narcissistic behaviour of political leaders, wild opinion on social media, and polarised debates? How to Tame the Political The Missing Piece is a journey of discovery of the underlying behaviour patterns that makes us politically self-centered, and, effectively, less human.
From the holy sites in Jerusalem to popular revolutions in the Arab world, this book builds on John Bell’s extensive experience as a diplomat and mediator in the Middle East to show how we ignore this key dimension of our politics at our peril. By breaking down the ingredients of what constitutes our political ego and how they work, this book provides us with the means to master it.
“A better grasp of human nature can be the source of stability, contentment and great meaning and achievement in our lives – if we bother to understand and master it.
This book is about this missing piece, that most human of dimensions that is at the centre of all our politics, and yet often casually ignored. It is about what lies behind our actions, basic and powerful drives that sideline common sense, and are ignored at our peril. They impel great flights of fancy through our tribal, national and ideological groups. They thrive in a world of ‘us and them’, misguided trajectories of cultural identity. In extremis, these motives evolve into radicalised and violent behaviour of unfathomable strains. One term for it is simply our ‘ego’, but it is more than that, it is what drives us to survive and thrive…” John
The Golden GateAdventures on a Blue LineThe Hidden DimensionThe Magnified SelfWe are all involvedMastering the Political EgoTransforming our Group MindA Larger PurposeThe Missing Piece is the first in a series, Towards a more Human Politics, that provides a sounder foundation for politics in order to help us leave the labyrinth of self-interest.
From the holy sites in Jerusalem to popular revolutions in the Arab world, this book builds on John Bell’s extensive experience as a diplomat and mediator in the Middle East to show how we ignore this key dimension of our politics at our peril. By breaking down the ingredients of what constitutes our political ego and how they work, this book provides us with the means to master it.
“A better grasp of human nature can be the source of stability, contentment and great meaning and achievement in our lives – if we bother to understand and master it.
This book is about this missing piece, that most human of dimensions that is at the centre of all our politics, and yet often casually ignored. It is about what lies behind our actions, basic and powerful drives that sideline common sense, and are ignored at our peril. They impel great flights of fancy through our tribal, national and ideological groups. They thrive in a world of ‘us and them’, misguided trajectories of cultural identity. In extremis, these motives evolve into radicalised and violent behaviour of unfathomable strains. One term for it is simply our ‘ego’, but it is more than that, it is what drives us to survive and thrive…” John
The Golden GateAdventures on a Blue LineThe Hidden DimensionThe Magnified SelfWe are all involvedMastering the Political EgoTransforming our Group MindA Larger PurposeThe Missing Piece is the first in a series, Towards a more Human Politics, that provides a sounder foundation for politics in order to help us leave the labyrinth of self-interest.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 19, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 31, 2021
Fascinating take on the nature of politics and how to improve it
The author proposes a way of looking at politics that reveals the hidden forces driving the behaviour of those involved. Only through becoming conscious of these forces may we learn to work effectively with them, and evolve a politics that truly serves individuals, nations, and humanity in general.
The author proposes a way of looking at politics that reveals the hidden forces driving the behaviour of those involved. Only through becoming conscious of these forces may we learn to work effectively with them, and evolve a politics that truly serves individuals, nations, and humanity in general.
November 26, 2021
A fascinating and important work by an international diplomat who recounts, through his experiences in the field, and largely in the Middle East, the hidden motives that drive human political behaviour.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews