Political Mind Games – Roy Eidelson

My book — POLITICAL MIND GAMES: How the 1% Manipulate Our Understanding of What’s Happening, What’s Right, and What’s Possible — describes and debunks the manipulative appeals that today’s plutocrats use to protect their extraordinary wealth and power at the expense of everyone else.

You can now download a free PDF version of Political Mind Games by clicking HERE. The book is also available through IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, other online outlets, and neighborhood bookstores.

These mind games keep many Americans from recognizing what’s gone wrong, who’s to blame, and what can be done to make things better. That’s because we’re inundated with artfully crafted public relations campaigns. We’re seduced by charismatic but disingenuous spokespersons. And most importantly, we’re often easy prey for disingenuous arguments that target the fundamental psychological issues in our daily lives.

What are these key issues? My research reveals that there are five concerns that profoundly shape the way we understand ourselves, our lives, and the world around us. They revolve around issues of vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. Each is linked to a basic question:

*Are we safe?
*Are we treated fairly?
*Who should we trust?
*Are we good enough?
*Can we control what happens to us?

Regrettably, our uncertainties about these issues are soft targets for appeals crafted to misdirect our anger, fragment our opposition, and even garner our support for an agenda that actually serves only the privileged few. That’s how so many have come to mistakenly believe climate change is a hoax, taxes are too high, the military budget is too low, public education needs privatization, workers have it too easy, voter fraud is everywhere, healthcare isn’t a fundamental right, poverty befalls only those who deserve it, and more.

Recognizing and countering these psychological mind games is an urgent matter for anyone interested in helping to chart a different course and build a more decent society.

In addition to the book, here are several shorter pieces I’ve written, along with some interviews:

Psychology’s “Dark Triad” and the Billionaire Class

INTERVIEW: My POLITICAL MIND GAMES Discussion with Cindy Ariel and Julie Mayer of Shrinks on Third

Stoking Fear: We Must Remember How the Iraq War Was Sold

INTERVIEW: My POLITICAL MIND GAMES Discussion with David Swanson on Talk Nation Radio

INTERVIEW: My POLITICAL MIND GAMES Conversation with Joanne Leonard on the Around the Empire podcast

In a World of Corporate-Backed Politicians, Beware the Sounds of Sirens

Get Ready for These Political Mind Games in 2019

A Tale of Two Caravans

Political Mind Games: The Kavanaugh File

INTERVIEW: A Follow-Up POLITICAL MIND GAMES Conversation with Gary Null on the Progressive Commentary Hour

INTERVIEW: POLITICAL MIND GAMES with Gary Null