The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World
Zoomicon-zoom-in
The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World

The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World

By
Linsey McGoey (Author)  

Paperback

In Stock

Quantity

Also available on eBook for £11.99. Click here to purchase from Rakuten Kobo

Deliberate ignorance has been known as the 'Ostrich Instruction' in law courts since the 1860s. It illustrates a recurring pattern in history in which figureheads for major companies, political leaders and industry bigwigs plead ignorance to avoid culpability. So why do so many figures at the top still get away with it when disasters on their watch damage so many people's lives? Does the idea that knowledge is power still apply in today's post-truth world? A bold, wide-ranging exploration of the relationship between ignorance and power in the modern age, from debates over colonial power and economic rent-seeking in the 18th and 19th centuries to the legal defences of today, The Unknowers shows that strategic ignorance has not only long been an inherent part of modern power and big business, but also that true power lies in the ability to convince others of where the boundary between ignorance and knowledge lies.
Linsey McGoey is full Professor of Sociology, University of Essex, UK, where she directs the Centre for Research in Economic Sociology and Innovation (CRESI). She has held visiting positions at LSE and Sciences Po, and is on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Study of Contemporary Solidarity, University of Vienna. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, Jacobin, Fortune, Open Democracy, and the Spectator.
  • Contributor: Linsey McGoey
  • Imprint: Zed Books Ltd
  • ISBN13: 9781780326351
  • Number of Pages: 384
  • Packaged Dimensions: 135x216mm
  • Packaged Weight: 410
  • Format: Paperback
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
  • Release Date: 2019-09-15
  • Binding: Paperback / softback
  • Biography: Linsey McGoey is full Professor of Sociology, University of Essex, UK, where she directs the Centre for Research in Economic Sociology and Innovation (CRESI). She has held visiting positions at LSE and Sciences Po, and is on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Study of Contemporary Solidarity, University of Vienna. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, Jacobin, Fortune, Open Democracy, and the Spectator.

Delivery Options

Home Delivery

Store Delivery

Free Returns

We hope you are delighted with everything you buy from us. However, if you are not, we will refund or replace your order up to 30 days after purchase. Terms and exclusions apply; find out more from our Returns and Refunds Policy.