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A review by helenecats
The Playbook: Protecting the Corporation from the Risks of Scientific Knowledge by Jennifer Jacquet
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Reading The Playbook: How to Deny Science, Sell Lies, and Make a Killing in the Corporate World by Jennifer Jacquet was at times infuriating, other times really sad, sometimes funny. This short non-fiction book has an interesting format. It's a satirical "playbook" for corporations, detailing all the tricks to avoid science and its accompanying regulations.
I already knew that money rules the world, but this book opened my eyes to a few things. Firstly, that a lot of scientists are being bought out by companies. Not outright, but effectively, a lot of research and PhD are being funded by industry. With a few caveats, such as, if the results are not what that corporations need or want, then they can often ask these scientists to rerun the study, or to buy the results.
You think I'm exaggerating?
Ask yourself why it took so many decades for tobacco ads to be banned, for smoking and cancer to be directly linked.
Ask yourself why fossil fuels companies continue to make so much profit despite them being well aware of their devastating impact on the planet, since the 70s.
Ask yourself why fish are about to disappear from the ocean, and why meat consumption is on the rise despite the many studies linking the cattle industry to cancer and deforestation.
There is so much in this book which is pretty scary yet not that surprising. Governments and the media are often complicit; for example giving as much importance, exposure or even protection to inaccurate studies or dangerous, biased ideas. Why? Because it creates controversy, clicks, votes… I won't really go into much more detail, but I highly recommend picking this up. It is an addictive read about politics, science, and PR.
The only caveat is that there aren't many explanations as to why we are still in this mess decades after realising that most corporations are evil entities, putting profit before everything. A takedown of the American education system, or capitalism, and possible alternatives, would have been interesting. But perhaps that is for another book…!
Thank you @NetGalley and @penguinrandomhouse for a proof copy in exchange of an honest review.
I already knew that money rules the world, but this book opened my eyes to a few things. Firstly, that a lot of scientists are being bought out by companies. Not outright, but effectively, a lot of research and PhD are being funded by industry. With a few caveats, such as, if the results are not what that corporations need or want, then they can often ask these scientists to rerun the study, or to buy the results.
You think I'm exaggerating?
Ask yourself why it took so many decades for tobacco ads to be banned, for smoking and cancer to be directly linked.
Ask yourself why fossil fuels companies continue to make so much profit despite them being well aware of their devastating impact on the planet, since the 70s.
Ask yourself why fish are about to disappear from the ocean, and why meat consumption is on the rise despite the many studies linking the cattle industry to cancer and deforestation.
There is so much in this book which is pretty scary yet not that surprising. Governments and the media are often complicit; for example giving as much importance, exposure or even protection to inaccurate studies or dangerous, biased ideas. Why? Because it creates controversy, clicks, votes… I won't really go into much more detail, but I highly recommend picking this up. It is an addictive read about politics, science, and PR.
The only caveat is that there aren't many explanations as to why we are still in this mess decades after realising that most corporations are evil entities, putting profit before everything. A takedown of the American education system, or capitalism, and possible alternatives, would have been interesting. But perhaps that is for another book…!
Thank you @NetGalley and @penguinrandomhouse for a proof copy in exchange of an honest review.