A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARShame is being weaponized by governments and corporations to attack the most vulnerable.
Whom does the system serve? How do current incentive structures perpetuate the shaming cycle? And, most important, how can we all fight back?.
Woven throughout The Shame Machine is the story of O\'Neil\'s own struggle with body image and her recent weight-loss surgery, which awakened her to the systematic shaming of fat people seeking medical care.
With clarity and nuance, O\'Neil dissects the relationship between Shame and power.
There are damning stories of rehab clinics, reentry programs, drug and diet companies, and social media platforms -- all of which profit from \'punching down\' on the vulnerable.
After all, why pay higher taxes to fund programmes for people who are fundamentally unworthy?O\'Neil explores the machinery behind all this shame, showing how governments, corporations and the healthcare system capitalize on it.
Shaming children for not being able to afford school lunches or adults for not being able to find work lets us off the hook as a society.
It is increasingly being weaponized -- used as a way to shift responsibility for social problems from institutions to individuals.
But as best-selling author Cathy O\'Neil argues in this revelatory book, shaming has taken a new and dangerous turn.
When we publicly Shame corrupt politicians, abusive celebrities, or predatory corporations, we reinforce values of fairness and justice.
It\'s time to fight backShame is a powerful and sometimes useful tool.
A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARShame is being weaponized by governments and corporations to attack the most vulnerable
