— A State of Fear
A State of Fear: how the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic, by Laura Dodsworth
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A Sunday Times Bestseller…
A State of Fear: how the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic
This is a book about fear. Fear of a virus. Fear of death. Fear of losing our jobs, our democracy, our human connections, our health and our minds. It’s also about how the government weaponised our fear against us – supposedly in our best interests – until we were the most frightened country in Europe.
Fear is the most powerful emotion. Hardwired into humans, fear is part of our evolutionary success. But that also makes it one of the most powerful tools in the behavioural psychology toolbox and it has been used to manipulate and control people during the pandemic.
In one of the most extraordinary documents ever revealed to the British public, the behavioural scientists advising the government said that a substantial number of people did not feel threatened enough by Covid-19 to follow the rules. They advised the government to increase our sense of ‘personal threat’, to scare us into submission.
But why did the government deliberately frighten us, and how has this affected us as individuals and as a country? Who is involved in the decision-making that affects our lives? How are behavioural science and nudge theory being used to subliminally manipulate us? How does the media leverage fear? What are the real risks to our wellbeing?
Ahead of any official inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Laura Dodsworth explores all these questions and more, in a nuanced and thought-provoking discussion of an extraordinary year in British life and politics. With stories from members of the general public who were impacted by fear, anxiety and isolation, and revealing interviews with psychologists, politicians, scientists, lawyers, Whitehall advisers and journalists, A State of Fear calls for a more hopeful, transparent and effective democracy.
“‘Dark and compelling, and yet woven throughout with the determination - the heartfelt need - to get beyond these dreadful days. When governments sow fear they must reap a bitter crop. This is a fascinating consideration of how fear has been used again and again throughout history and in one civilisation after another, so that governments and others in authority might get their own way. A State of Fear is an affecting and troubling read.’”
“‘An essential read...This book has the ability to shake many people’s beliefs surrounding Covid-19, encouraging them to look at the state of the world not through the lens of fear but through one of rationality and reflection.’”
“‘This is an important book. The use of fear as a tool of political management is a major challenge to democracy which every one should reflect upon, whatever their view about lockdowns and Covid-19.’”
Order the book:
A State of Fear is available in the UK and internationally, including the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and is also published in Spain.
