David Runciman May 15, 2008

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What kind of hypocrite should voters choose as their next leader? In Political Hypocrisy (Princeton), David Runciman looks at the problems of sincerity and truth in politics through lessons drawn from some of the great truth-tellers in modern political thought – Hobbes, Jefferson, Bentham and Orwell amongst others, and applies his ideas to different kinds of hypocritical politicians from Oliver Cromwell to Hillary Clinton. He argues that we should accept hypocrisy as a political fact but without resigning ourselves to it and asks when, where and how should we expect our politicians to be honest with us, and about what? David Runciman is senior lecturer in political theory at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Trinity Hall, and writes regularly for the London Review of Books.

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