The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity by Cipolla is a short book is a funny, clever, and simple description of the phenomenon of stupidity.
In his book, Italian sociologist Mario Cipolla argues that there is no such thing as a stupid person – and that even the most powerful in society can be stupid. But he admits that there are variations in the percentage of stupid people who are allowed to be active within different societies.
Cipolla’s definition of intelligent, rational, good and stupid, irrational, bad follows the same line of logic as that of William James, which says that what is true is what brings benefit, and what is false is what harms. The only way to accept this idea is to agree with the pragmatists who say that there are no such things as good or bad human actions; they are merely the products of human behavior.
Chapter 1: The First Basic Law – Summary
Chapter 2: The Second Basic Law – Summary
Chapter 3: A Technical Interlude – Summary
Chapter 4: The Third (And Golden) Basic Law – Summary
Chapter 5: Frequency Distribution – Summary
Chapter 6: Stupidity and Power – Summary
Chapter 7: The Power of Stupidity – Summary
Chapter 8: The Fourth Basic Law – Summary
Chapter 9: Macro Analysis and the Fifth Basic Law – Summary