The Myths We Live By A Contrarian's Guide to Democracy, Free Speech and Other Liberal Fictions

In this witty and mischievous book, philosopher Peter Cave dissects the most controversial disputes today and uses philosophical argument to reveal that many issues are less straightforward than we'd like to believe. Leaving no sacred cow standing, Cave uses ingenious stories and examples to challenge our most strongly held assumptions. Is democracy inherently a good thing? What is the basis of so-called human rights? Is discrimination always bad? Are we morally obliged to accept refugees? In an age of identity politics and so-called "fake news," this book is an essential resource for reinvigorating genuine public debate —and an entertaining challenge to accepted wisdom.

Peter Cave lectures in philosophy for New York University (London) and the Open University. He is the author of numerous articles and several philosophy books, including This Sentence Is False and The Big Think Book. He has scripted and presented philosophy programs for BBC Radio 4 and often appears in the media, taking part in public debates, providing some philosophical approaches often on matters of ethics, religion and politics.

vContents
Prologue: On hiding what we know 1
1 What’s so good about democracy? 7
2 How democracy lies 24
3 Freedom and discrimination: burqas, bikinis and Anonymous 49
4 Should we want what we want? 70
5 Lives and luck: can Miss Fortuna be tamed? 87
6 The Land of Justice 103
7 Plucking the goose: what’s so bad about taxation? 115
8 ‘This land is our land’ 138
9 Community identity: nationalism and cosmopolitanism 157
10 What’s so good about equal representation? 175
11 Human duties – oops – human rights 194
12 Free speech: the Tower of Babel; the Serpent of Silence 220
13 Regrets, apologies and past abuses 244
14 ‘Because I’m a woman’: trans identities 261
15 Happy Land 284
Epilogue: In denial 312
Notes and References 321
Acknowledgements 336
Index 338