The Power Paradox

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Power Paradox by Dacher Keltner, read by Kaleo Griffith.

This revolutionary new book shows us that everything we thought about power is dead wrong. It is not gained, as the Machiavellian view says, through coercive force. Influence comes instead to those who are socially intelligent and empathetic - but ironically the seductions of power make us lose those very qualities that made us powerful in the first place. By drawing on fascinating case studies that debunk longstanding myths, Dacher Keltner illuminates this 'power paradox', revealing how it shapes not just companies and elections but everyday relationships. Both power and powerlessness distort human behaviour, affecting whether or not we will have an affair, break the law, suffer from depression or find our purpose in life. By redefining power as the ability to do good for others, Keltner turns everything we know about influence, status, and inequality upside down.