Böcker av Michel Desmurget

In America, liberalism brings prosperity to the many? False: In America, "anything is possible" for those who work hard? False. In America, the unemployment rate is derisory? False. In America, poverty is relative and the poor live "like modest Europeans"? False. In America, those excluded from the health care system receive free care when they really need it? False and very false.America has the highest levels of poverty, child mortality and inequality of any developed country. Millions of children are denied even the right to a decent education, and are forced to advertise during class. Millions of people work full time (or more) for wages below the poverty line. Millions of employees, subject to summary dismissal, are denied paid leave, health insurance, retirement plans and unemployment coverage. Women give birth and return to work the next day because they have no access to paid maternity leave. Retirees are forced to sell empty Coca-Cola cans from the garbage to survive. The incarceration rate of the most disadvantaged is such that it distorts even the unemployment figures...Yet many European politicians continue to hold up the "American model" as a saving grace. How much longer will we have to endure such a fable? This black book reveals all the figures and scandals that make up America today. Dozens of testimonies make it a breathtaking investigation.

Sophie, 2 years old, watches 1 hour of TV a day. This doubles her chances of developing attentional problems as she grows older.Lubin, 3, watches 2 hours of TV a day. This triples his chances of being overweight.Four-year-old Kevin watches violent youth programs like DragonBall Z. This quadruples his chances of having behavioral problems when he is in elementary school.Silvia, age 7, watches 1 hour of TV a day. This increases her chances of becoming an adult without a diploma by more than a third.Lina, 15, watches shows like Desperate Housewives. This triples her chances of having an unwanted early pregnancy.Between the ages of 40 and 60, Yves watched 1 hour of TV a day. This increases his chances of developing Alzheimer's disease by one third.Henri, 60 years old, watches 4 hours of TV a day. René, his twin, is satisfied with half that. Henri is twice as likely to die of a heart attack as René.Every month, international scientific journals publish dozens of such results. For the specialists, including the author, there is no longer any doubt: television is a scourge. It has a profoundly negative influence on intellectual development, school performance, language, attention, imagination, creativity, violence, sleep, smoking, alcoholism, sexuality, body image, eating habits, obesity and life expectancy.These facts are denied with fascinating aplomb by the audiovisual industry and its army of complacent experts. The strategy is not new: the tobacco companies had used it, in their time, to contest the carcinogenic character of tobacco...