"The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead" by David Callahan

Thursday, March 11 @ 6:00PM - Stanford Bookstore Art Alcove

"The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead" by David Callahan

In exploring the reasons for the surge in American cheating, Callahan took a broad approach, encompassing different professions, our government and legal system, the economy, popular culture, and people's values. He examined government reports and statistics, studies by social scientists, public opinion polls, and journalistic investigations of scandals and cheating. Callahan also conducted interviews with people who deal with the cheating culture: parents, students, teachers, coaches, athletes, experts in business ethics, stock analysts, lawyers, accountants, doctors, and law enforcement officials. His findings? An increase in cheating reflects deep anxiety and insecurity in America, including arrogance among the rich and cynicism among ordinary people. In a final chapter of this meticulously researched book, Callahan suggests three ways to address this growing problem: forge a new social contract, reform key professions and instill new codes of conduct in the workplace, and strengthen the ethics of new generations of Americans.

David Callahan is cofounder and director of research at the public policy center Demos. The author of five books, he has published articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today, and has been a frequent commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. He received a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University and lives in New York City.