Chapter Ninety-Four: Assholes, A Theory

The title of this philosophical non-fiction work by Aaron James is not a joke: this is sincerely a book that presents a philosophical theory of assholes--what they are and why non-assholes find them so disturbing and offensive.  I'll say that among the very limited number of philosophical works I've read, this is, hands down, the most interesting and engaging and pertinent to daily life.  James puts forward a compelling and understandable definition of assholes basically as people who systematically assign special privileges to themselves out of an entrenched sense of entitlement that allows them to ignore any attempts by others to convince them of their wrongness.  James also provides extensive examples of different types of assholes using various public figures as his models.  He also provides some tips on asshole management, since it is unfortunately impossible to avoid all assholes in daily life.  These tips are not advice on how to change assholes--as he defines them, they are incorrigible, after all--but on how to prevent them from ruining your day with their assholery.  Most interesting to me, however, was his theory of asshole capitalism and its greater societal effects and implications, which he puts forward toward the end of this book.  Whether you agree with any of his propositions or not, Assholes, A Theory is a thought-provoking read.