The Cheating Culture
Encyclopedia
The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead is a nonfiction book
, authored by David Callahan
and published by Harcourt
in 2004.
The main thesis of the book is that the current state of American society, characterized by rampant inequality
and a winner-take-all philosophy, produces the cheating that has been observed in business, law, academia, journalism, entertainment and medicine.
Cheating, of both illegal and legal forms, is pervasive in an American society where incentive-driven structures (e.g. stock options, production-based pay, fast-track career options) have gone haywire: Instead of promoting productivity and "fair play", they reward deception and chicanery. Callahan provides multiple examples of this phenomenon in recent American history:
Not restricted to professions, cheating now appears in all facets of American life. According to Callahan, cheating breeds upon a dynamic between a winner class, an upper-class so influential they effectively are exempt from most rules and standards, and an anxious class, often compelled to cheat during a period of downward social mobility
, downsizing, and within a cultural climate that values money and power
above personal integrity.
Callahan shows, however, that large-scale cheating is most prevalent among the "Winner" upper class
. Despite their high salaries and opulent lifestyles, they live in constant comparison with those who have more than them, and therefore exhibit lives characterized by high spending, severe anxiety, and countless opportunities and temptations to cheat.
The author, however, also notes that blame for the cheating phenomenon does not lie upon a single class of people. Rather, it represents the individualistic ambitions of the amorphously-defined "Me" generation, mixed dangerously with laissez-faire
principles espoused by the 1980s neoliberals, and implemented, to America's detriment, during the "get-rich-quick" era of the 1980s and '90s
.
While speaking about the book in Denver
, Colorado
, Callahan made the following statements about American
society:
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, authored by David Callahan
David Callahan
David Callahan is a co-founder of the think tank Demos, a public policy group based in New York City, where he is currently a Senior Fellow. He is also an author, commentator, and lecturer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the books The Cheating Culture and The Moral Center. Callahan is a...
and published by Harcourt
Harcourt Trade Publishers
Harcourt was a United States publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. The company was based in San Diego, California, with an Editorial / Sales / Marketing / Rights offices in New York City and Orlando, Florida.In 2007, the U.S...
in 2004.
The main thesis of the book is that the current state of American society, characterized by rampant inequality
Economic inequality
Economic inequality comprises all disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among countries. The issue of economic inequality is related to the ideas of...
and a winner-take-all philosophy, produces the cheating that has been observed in business, law, academia, journalism, entertainment and medicine.
Cheating, of both illegal and legal forms, is pervasive in an American society where incentive-driven structures (e.g. stock options, production-based pay, fast-track career options) have gone haywire: Instead of promoting productivity and "fair play", they reward deception and chicanery. Callahan provides multiple examples of this phenomenon in recent American history:
- In the 1990s, when Sears instituted a production quota for its auto repair staff, mechanics began performing unnecessary and costly maintenance.
- Overbilling, often to the extent of criminality, is highly common within the legal profession. Pressed to bill as much time as possible, ambitious young lawyers often overcharge clients.
- In the medical profession, physicians feel forced to exaggerate symptoms of managed-careHealth maintenance organizationA health maintenance organization is an organization that provides managed care for health insurance contracts in the United States as a liaison with health care providers...
patients, since otherwise their insurers would deny coverage.
Not restricted to professions, cheating now appears in all facets of American life. According to Callahan, cheating breeds upon a dynamic between a winner class, an upper-class so influential they effectively are exempt from most rules and standards, and an anxious class, often compelled to cheat during a period of downward social mobility
Social mobility
Social mobility refers to the movement of people in a population from one social class or economic level to another. It typically refers to vertical mobility -- movement of individuals or groups up from one socio-economic level to another, often by changing jobs or marrying; but can also refer to...
, downsizing, and within a cultural climate that values money and power
Power (sociology)
Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to...
above personal integrity.
Callahan shows, however, that large-scale cheating is most prevalent among the "Winner" upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
. Despite their high salaries and opulent lifestyles, they live in constant comparison with those who have more than them, and therefore exhibit lives characterized by high spending, severe anxiety, and countless opportunities and temptations to cheat.
The author, however, also notes that blame for the cheating phenomenon does not lie upon a single class of people. Rather, it represents the individualistic ambitions of the amorphously-defined "Me" generation, mixed dangerously with laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
principles espoused by the 1980s neoliberals, and implemented, to America's detriment, during the "get-rich-quick" era of the 1980s and '90s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
.
While speaking about the book in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Callahan made the following statements about American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
society:
- The level of the public's trust is low to the point of being "poisonous". Throughout his book, he states that cynical attitudes and lack of trust in others produce cheating. For example, one expecting to be "screwed" by others is more likely to cheat others to compensate.
- Members of higher socio-economic groups, such as the wealthy bankers who profit from the credit cardCredit cardA credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
industry, frequently victimize members of lower socio-economic groups. - The 1980s and '90s were characterized by an emphasis on self-interest, maintaining the individualismIndividualismIndividualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
and anticonformismAnticonformismAnticonformism is a philosophy which actively rejects conformity. Anticonformists are not merely individualists, but believe that conformity is responsible for many of the world's ills...
of the 1960s but shedding the community-oriented ideals of social responsibilitySocial responsibilitySocial responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the...
and personal integrityIntegrityIntegrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions...
. - American societySocietyA society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
has a "schizophrenic personality": it tends to cyclically alternate between a spirit of self-interest, and an attitude of communalCommunityThe term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
interest. The last period of such vulgar self-interest, according to Callahan, was the American 1920s.