How to be a dissident / Gal Beckerman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beckerman, Gal, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Government, Resistance to.

Authoritarianism.

Autonomy (Psychology).

Physical Description:

199 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

Crown trade paperback original.

Place of Publication:

New York : Crown, [2026]

Summary:

"A guide to fighting back-part philosophy, part history, and part manual for living with integrity in an age of conformity and authoritarian drift"-- Provided by publisher.

How do we push back in a world where political leaders wield fear and intimidation? Where digital technology dehumanizes and flattens us? We need role models, and in this engaging book, acclaimed writer Gal Beckerman goes looking for them. Drawing on the stories of dissidents from around the globe and across time, from Socrates to Ai Weiwei, and thinkers like Hannah Arendt and Iris Murdoch, Beckerman reveals the defining characteristics these extraordinary figures share, a set of attributes and practices for anyone navigating the pressures of modern tyranny. Structured around ten qualities, this illuminating, surprising book blends intellectual history, biography, and cultural criticism. It charts a dissident's journey from the solitary moment of recognizing the truth, through the risks of speaking it, to the legacy that can outlast a life. What makes dissidents tick? And how might we change when we encounter them? Urgent and inspiring, Beckerman's book shows that dissidence is a human capacity we can all cultivate, a refusal to betray one's inner voice, no matter the cost. In a polarized America and a world sliding toward authoritarianism, we need dissidents--not only the jailed and martyred, but also those of us who face small daily compromises of conscience. How to Be a Dissident lights the way.

Contents:

Introduction: How should we behave?

Chapter 1: Be alone

Chapter 2: Be pessimistic

Chapter 3: Be funny

Chapter 4: Be rational

Chapter 5: Be watchful

Chapter 6: Be reckless

Chapter 7: Be loyal

Chapter 8: Be presumptuous

Chapter 9: Be human

Chapter 10: Be immortal

Epilogue: How we should behave?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Other Format:

Online version Beckerman, Gal How to be a dissident

ISBN:

9798217089215

OCLC:

1564572113