The political chessboard: its bishops, its kings, its pawns.

We love politics as much as we hate those who embody it. They never seem to live up to our hopes and the circumstances. Human, too human… or too little, sometimes. But too much blackening of the line, it’s democracy being erased. And the blame is shared. After all, which is worse: governing or voting like assholes?

This collective book is neither a blooper nor yet another systematic smear of the political, but a set of reflections on the responsibility of those in power, of voters and the media in crises of confidence in the power that mark our history and culminate in our times.

Edited by Jean-François Marmion, Psychologist and ex-editor-in-chief of the journal Le Cercle Psy, editor of Psychology of Stupidity, Universal History of Stupidity and Psychology of beautiful and ugly ones.

Contributors: Cécile Alduy, Laurent Auzoult, Michael C. Berhent, Dominique Bourg, Philippe Braud, Sophie Coignard, Tania Crasnianski, Christian Delporte, Pascal Froissart, Alain Garrigou, Jean Garrigues, Didier Georgakakis, Charles Haroche, Jean-Vincent Holeindre, François-Bernard Huyghe, Annie Jourdan, Karim Lebhour, Patrick Lemoine, Alexis Lévrier, George E. Marcus, Janine Mossuz-Lavau, Anne Muxel, Cédric Passard, Pascal Perrineau, Emmanuel Pinto, Didier Pourquery, Myriam Revault d’Allonnes, Romina Rinaldi, Brice Teinturier.

Table of contents

Introduction by Jean-François Marmion
1. Patrick Lemoine, Bullshit and madness of the greats of this world
2. Laurent Auzoult-Chagnault, How power transforms a personality
3. Jean Garrigues, History of scandals
4. Emmanuel Pinto, Power and addiction, or political life as a drug
5. Tania Crasnianski, Power and addiction, or drugs for politics
6. Sophie Coignard, The lament of lazy kings
7. Myriam Revault d’Allonnes, Truth and Politics
8. Charles Haroche, Bad faith
9. Jean-Vincent Holeindre, The art of pretending to be an idiot
10. Alain Garrigou, The obsession with polls
12. Janine Mossuz-Lavau, Sexism in politics
13. Dominique Sopo, Racism within parties, interview
14. Anne Muxel, Young activists, future old assholes?
15. Cédric Passard, History of bullshit in pamphlets
16. Cécile Alduy, Lexicon of political vocabulary, interview
17. Christian Delporte, The ravages of the double talk
18. François-Bernard Huyghe, What fake news change
19. Pascal Froissart, The use of rumour
20. George Marcus, Voter psychology, interview
21. Brice Dyer, Abstention, jerk trap?, interview
22. Annie Jourdan, The imaginary of the revolution, a breeding ground for bullshit
23. Pascal Perrineau, The Bullshit in the Yellow Vests Crisis
24. Michael Behrent, Is Trump really the worst president of the United States?
25. Karim Lebhour, But what is the UN for?
26. Didier Georgakakis, Europe at 27: together, everything becomes impossible?
27. Dominique Bourg, Facing the environmental crisis
28. Romina Rinaldi, Neuroscience and Politics: A Marriage of Foolishness
29. Didier Pourquery, The irony of politics: how far?