1 - Introduction

Summary

The opening chapter begins with the question why both in the academic literature and in real-world politics self-control has garnered so much less attention than intelligence. Due to the neglect of this crucial personality trait, the modern world has developed into an “iron cage” that poorly befits the realities of the human mind. The goal of this book is to correct this state of affairs. It details what psychology has learned about self-control and explores the implications of this knowledge for some key ideas underlying the current social order (i.e. moral responsibility and distributive justice) and for the ever-increasing emphasis on personal responsibility in politics. Having thus set the stage, this opening chapter gives an extensive overview of the main concepts, themes, and arguments of the book, including its conclusions and recommendations.