The Blame Business : The Uses and Misuses of Accountability

The Blame Business is a fascinating journey through the landscape of blame, deepening our understanding of blame and how it shapes our lives. This book examines the roots of blame and its enduring manifestations today, from ancient witch-hunts to modern corporate whistleblowers.

Whenever anything goes wrong our first instinct is often to find someone to blame. Blame infuses our society in myriad ways, seeding rancor and revenge, dividing lovers, coworkers, communities, and nations. Yet blame, appropriately placed and managed, safeguards moral order and legal culpability. In this book, Stephen Fineman explores this duality inherent in blame, taking us on a fascinating journey across blame's sometimes bitter—sometimes just—landscape.Fineman focuses on blame's roots and enduring manifestations, from the witch hunts of the past to today's more buttoned-up scapegoating and stigmatization; from an individual's righteous anger to entire cultures shaped by its power. Addressing our era of increasing unease about governance in public and private enterprises, he delves behind the scenes of organizations infected with blame, profiling the people who keep its plates spinning. With a critical eye, he examines the vexing issue of public accountability and the political circus that so often characterizes our politicians and corporations lost in their "blame games."Ultimately, Fineman raises the challenging question of how we might mitigate blame's corrosive effects, asking crucial and timely questions about the limits of remorse and forgiveness, the role of state apologies for historical wrongdoings, whether restorative justice can work, and many other topics. An absorbing look at something we all know intimately, this book deepens our understanding of blame and how it shapes our lives.

Whenever anything goes wrong our first instinct is often to find someone to blame. Blame infuses our society in myriad ways, seeding rancor and revenge, dividing lovers, coworkers, communities, and nations. Yet blame, appropriately placed and managed, safeguards moral order and legal culpability. In this book, Stephen Fineman explores this duality inherent in blame, taking us on a fascinating journey across blame's sometimes bitter—sometimes just—landscape. Fineman focuses on blame's roots and enduring manifestations, from the witch hunts of the past to today's more buttoned-up scapegoating and stigmatization; from an individual's righteous anger to entire cultures shaped by its power. Addressing our era of increasing unease about governance in public and private enterprises, he delves behind the scenes of organizations infected with blame, profiling the people who keep its plates spinning. With a critical eye, he examines the vexing issue of public accountability and the political circus that so often characterizes our politicians and corporations lost in their “blame games.” Ultimately, Fineman raises the challenging question of how we might mitigate blame's corrosive effects, asking crucial and timely questions about the limits of remorse and forgiveness, the role of state apologies for historical wrongdoings, whether restorative justice can work, and many other topics. An absorbing look at something we all know intimately, this book deepens our understanding of blame and how it shapes our lives. "Blame infuses society in myriad ways. At its worst it sours and destabilizes relationships, dividing lovers, co-workers, communities and nations. In the hands of skilled propagandists blame is a potent tool for persecution; in the hands of the media it is a vehicle for creating social unease. Yet blame also safeguards moral order and legal culpability. Blame is thus both destructive and necessary. The Blame Business takes us on a fascinating journey through the landscape of blame, from ancient witch-hunts to today's scapegoating and stigmatization, and from righteous anger to blame cultures. Stephen Fineman delves behind the scenes of public and private organizations infected with blame and profiles the people who try to hold them to account, examining the vexed issue of public accountability as politicians and corporate leaders play their 'blame games'. What are the limits of remorse and forgiveness? Is restorative justice the answer? This absorbing book deepens our understanding of blame and how it shapes all of our lives"--Unedited summary from book cover Cover; The Blame Business: The Uses and Misuses of Accountability; Imprint Page; Contents; Introduction; 1. Why Do We Blame?; 2. Panics Old and New; 3. Blame Cultures; 4. Blaming the Organization; 5. The Empires Strike Back; 6. Blame Government; 7. I'm Sorry; 8. From Blame to Restoration; A Final Thought: The Trouble with Blame; References; Bibliography; Acknowledgements; Index.