Chapter Excerpts from the Book

We need a hard reset on who we are—and who we allow to lead us. Bullies and parasites are those in our neighborhoods and nations who steal from others and reduce them to slaves. They exploit lives to subsidize their own. This happens in dictatorship and democracy. In...

I hate that I live in a world where I must write this book. I hate that this book needs to be written. I dearly hope that by reading this book, you’ll see what to hate—and halt it. And also see what to do, and do it, for each other, for our future together. I wrote...

If we are to free each other from slavery, in all its forms and disguises, we must be clear-eyed about our own vulnerabilities. Bullies and parasites rely on them to keep us in our place—especially our fear of the other, our instinctive reactions to the unfamiliar,...

What You Can Do Now Bullies and Parasites Recognize that some take and hoard by force and deception. Call them what they are: bulliesand parasites. Stop honoring or celebrating them—in history or today. If you are one, stop. If you see one, expose it. Refuse to go...

Throughout history, there have always been bullies—those who stole and hoarded the abundance of others for their own gain. But for all their self-glory, every one of them and their kingdoms fell and were replaced. Predators get consumed by other predators. They are...

Bully leaders sacrifice others to benefit themselves—through ambition, theft, self-flattery, conquest, revenge and cruelty. True leaders sacrifice of themselves to benefit others—giving their talents, resources—sometimes even their lives. They model what it is to care...

The revolutionary idea of democracy was that people got a vote in who led them and what standards they would agree to. Consent of the governed. There have always been smaller and limited versions of this in history, but applying it to large populations over wide...

Every new regime comes dressed in new language and promises of fairness and “a new day ahead”—but it’s often the same old structure with new bullies at the top. Those who promise to be ruthless for you will be ruthless to you once they gain power. The real failure of...

I suspect most of us don’t give authority much thought—until it fails us. We tend to assume those in charge will do the right thing, and we only notice when they don’t. Some of us seek positions of authority, some claim them without consent, some threaten or beat...

The most radical thing we can do with abundance is share it. We live on a planet with such extraordinary abundance that we can easily provide every person with healthcare, decent housing, and good food. Anything short of this is evil. Instead, the poor subsidize the...