Clever Geek Handbook
8 January 2026

Getting Past No

Recommendation

Best-selling author William Ury has the topic of negotiation down cold. Reading this classic book (originally released in 1991) is a pleasure and the reasons it became a bestseller are obvious: It is clear, concise and eminently readable. This book has such wide appeal that BooksInShort recommends it to all businesspeople and to anyone who ever needs to negotiate about anything – from cops bargaining with hostage takers to consumers pushing for the best car prices. Read this book and become a better negotiator.

Take-Aways

  • The “breakthrough negotiation” strategy hinges on controlling your instinctive first reactions and approaching your goal in an indirect way.
  • The strategy has five steps: be a dispassionate observer, understand the other side’s interests, reframe the argument, build a “golden bridge” and educate the other side.
  • Know what you want to accomplish and how you want to attain your goal.
  • Convert your opponents into partners.
  • The objective of a negotiation is to satisfy your interests, certainly better than if both parties had pursued their best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA.
  • Preparation is the linchpin of successful negotiations.
  • Joint problem solving requires parties to focus on their interests, not their positions.
  • When people feel threatened or under attack, they respond instinctively, aggressively and negatively.
  • Stay mentally detached during a negotiation, so you can more easily identify the three most common disruptive tactics: attacks, stonewalling and deception.
  • Defuse an intransigent counterpart’s hostility by doing something unexpected.

Summary

The Negotiation Revolution

In today’s interconnected, contentious world, conflict is a way of life. But so is negotiation, which is any interactive communication process undertaken to reach an agreement with other parties. Negotiations do not have to be formal. They can take place in stores, with children or at work. A negotiation happens whenever you want something from another person.

“The turning point of the breakthrough method is when you change the name of the game from positional bargaining to joint problem solving.”

To avoid the stress of negotiating, convert a process that is usually based on confrontation into a process grounded in joint problem solving. Using this approach, both parties pay attention to the problem at hand without involving their egos.

In mutual problem solving, the participants focus on five touchstones necessary for a solution that benefits everyone: “interests, options for satisfying those interests, standards for resolving differences fairly, alternatives to negotiation and proposals for agreement.” Each party’s interests include their fears, needs, concerns and desires. Once people identify their needs, begin seeking ways to fulfill them.

“Conflict is a growth industry – and so, naturally, are difficult negotiations.”

Alas, in the real world, obstacles arise to prevent this from working smoothly. The first obstacle is your reaction to the process. You may want to acquiesce to preserve your relationship with the other person. Or, that individual may be aggressive or intractable because he or she is afraid or distrustful. In that case, you may want to be assertive. The secret is to control your instincts, act strategically, and know your final goal and how you want to reach it.

“The key word in an agreement is ‘yes’.”

Begin by getting organized for the negotiation. Good negotiators should spend one minute preparing for every minute they will be in discussions with the other party. As you plan and pursue your negotiation, heed these principles:

  • Identify everyone’s specific interests – Rank your interests, so you don’t mistakenly bargain away a less important one for a more important one. Understand what matters to the other individuals involved, including their priorities and their perceptions of the facts. Taking the time to delve into their interests is very important. Try to discover their emotional attitude toward the issues and toward you. Talk to people who know them (co-workers, friends, customers) to learn more about them and determine if they are honest.
  • Create options that satisfy everyone ¬– Identifying your counterparties’ interests enables you to present options that may satisfy everyone. Perhaps you can expand the number of choices under discussion, as opposed to considering only the obvious options. Sticking to your original negotiating stance is a common mistake that limits your options and blocks you from uncovering new alternatives. Focus on your interests, not your position.
  • Present industry standards that can solve differences – These standards could provide useful precedents from common practices in science, cost analysis, technical measures or other areas. Referring to standards advances negotiations and bypasses confrontations. Standards are neutral, so both parties should find it easier to view them as objective.
  • Consider other alternatives to negotiations – Contrary to common perception, the object of a negotiation is not just to reach a settlement, but to reach a better settlement than if both parties had pursued their best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA. Your BATNA is meaningful, since it gives you power. For instance, if you ask your boss for a raise, having another job offer gives you more leverage and confidence. If you disagree with a salesperson, your BATNA may be to talk to the store manager. Measure any possible agreement against your BATNA. If you fail to reach an agreement, your BATNA becomes your plan B. If your BATNA is more lucrative or more favorable than the negotiated offer, consider exploring your BATNA. But, remember, your counterparty also has a BATNA.
  • Develop agreement proposals – A proposal is a draft agreement you are prepared to sign. “Aim high” but set your goals realistically. Don’t expect to get everything you ask for, but know what would satisfy you. Determine if any of the alternative proposals would work out even better than your BATNA. Then, practice what you want to say. Rehearse the negotiation session with a friend who can present counterarguments for practice. Try to anticipate how the other parties will respond to your points to reduce the possibility of getting surprised.

“Breakthrough Negotiation” Step by Step

The breakthrough negotiation strategy converts the other side into your partner in reaching a solution. This changes the rules of the game by shifting away from confrontation. It transforms problems into opportunities for both parties to get what they want.

“Negotiation is more about asking than it is about telling.”

Making this transformation requires education. To make breakthrough negotiation work, you must help the other party approach the problem in a new way. During the negotiation process, control your instinctive reactions and use an indirect approach. Use the five stages of the breakthrough negotiation strategy in this order:

Step One: “Go to the Balcony”

As a bargaining session heats up, cool your instinctive feisty reaction to wage combat by mentally detaching yourself from your negotiation, as if from a higher perspective, like a balcony. Do not respond automatically. Calmly evaluate the situation. Become an observer. Instead of being emotionally entwined, focus on your goal. Know what you want. Stay rational and calm.

“The single most important skill in negotiation is the ability to put yourself in the other side’s shoes.”

When people feel attacked, they respond instinctively and badly. The most usual response is to fight back, which produces short-term gains, but long-term losses. Other common responses to feeling challenged range from surrendering to the other side’s demands to terminating the relationship. That may have some merit (no one likes to feel victimized), but it has negative financial and emotional consequences. Instead, govern and control your instincts.

“The other side’s mind is often like a cluttered attic, full of old resentments and angers, gripes and stories. To argue with them just keeps all this stuff alive. But if you acknowledge the validity of what they say, it begins to lose its emotional charge. In effect, the stuff begins to disappear from the attic.”

Resist the tendency to lose your objectivity when feeling threatened. Reacting mindlessly will aggravate the original problem. Break this cycle by deciding not to react. Enter a dispassionate state of mind, where you can produce constructive responses. When you are detached, you will find it easier to identify the three most common disruptive tactics: attacks, stonewalling and deception. Once you label your opponents’ tactic, you can think about it and craft a strong response. Don’t be afraid to slow down the discussion by asking the counterparties to repeat what they’ve said. Take notes, so you can track their earlier positions. People who use even one of these tactics often use all three in combination to keep you off balance.

Step Two: “Step to Their Side”

Don’t get drawn into an argument. Put yourself in your counterparties’ shoes. Then, defuse their negativity and hostility by acting unexpectedly. They think you are going to be obstinate and aggressive. Instead, do something surprising, like agreeing with them. Acknowledge the merits of their position and treat them respectfully. State that their point of view is valid. When you listen to them, they will start to listen to you. Be an active, responsive, careful listener, and encourage them to explain whatever is on their mind.

“A common mistake in negotiation is to dwell on a single solution, your original position.”

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara did something unexpected while discussing the 1962 Cuban missile crisis with Russian and Cuban diplomats at a 1989 symposium. McNamara surprised the audience when he said he understood that the Cubans and Russians secretly installed atomic weapons in Cuba because they thought the U.S. was going to invade the island, even though the U.S. had no intention of doing so. This surprising remark made people more interested in what he had to say.

“The first casualty of an attack is your objectivity – the faculty you need most to negotiate effectively.”

One way to express your views in a volatile situation is to talk in the first person. Instead of saying the other parties acted irresponsibly, turn the situation around and say you feel distressed by their behavior. This technique emphasizes your needs, perspective and desires, but does not focus on other people’s inappropriate conduct or negative decisions.

Step Three: “Reframe”

When you are dealing with stubborn counterparties, move the negotiations ahead by reframing the situation. Don’t reject their arguments. Instead, rephrase them so you can “tackle the problem together.” Show that you understand their position. This gives you a way to try to change their stance by identifying shared interests and alternative solutions.

“Inventing options for mutual gain is a negotiator’s single greatest opportunity.”

Reframing, in effect, means beginning to treat your opponents as partners in finding solutions and working together to forge a creative result that benefits everyone. To break a logjam, try asking your counterparts for advice about solving a problem in the negotiation. Frequently, they will provide it. That can start the reframing process. Similarly, asking basic questions, such as “Why do you need that?” and “Why not try it this way?” can jump-start new ways of looking at an issue. Asking problem-solving questions can also shift the other party away from counterproductive tactics, such as personal attacks or deception.

“The combination of seemingly opposite responses – acknowledging your counterparty’s views and expressing your own – is more effective than either alone.”

If someone asks you to make a critical decision immediately, don’t do it. Request a time-out. Use techniques to buy time to think, such as saying your lawyer has to review all the documents before you sign anything. If the other side imposes an unreasonable deadline, test the deadline. For instance, if a management representative says the company must have a labor contract by 5 p.m., union negotiators could respond that they must take any settlement back for a full-membership vote, which would take at least a week. Breaching the deadline will prevent you from yielding to the other side’s ultimatum.

Step Four: “Build Them a Golden Bridge”

To get a lasting deal, be sure that all the involved parties develop crucial decisions jointly and that any agreements cover all the participants’ basic interests and priorities. Deals can fall apart when people are made to look weak before their subordinates or when the agreement itself becomes seemingly overwhelming or intimidating. Pressuring the other side and dictating instructions will drive people away. Instead, when you remain far from an agreement and negotiations get tough, create a structure between your position and your counterparties’. Build a “golden bridge” across the chasm. To erect the bridge, present good ideas to the other side and ask for constructive criticism so people will adopt your ideas as their own. Involve them in crafting a solution that meets everyone’s mutual interests. This allows them to join you in finding a superior solution, to end the negotiation with something they wanted and to keep their dignity intact.

“Most negotiations are won or lost even before the talking begins.”

The pivotal human needs for recognition, respect and autonomy play an important role in negotiations. The Campbell Soup Company once wanted to buy a highly successful steakhouse to turn it into a chain. Campbell’s representative negotiated with the owner for six weeks without making much progress. When the negotiator finally asked the owner why he was reluctant to sell, the man said he had built the business himself and was personally invested in its success. Money was not his main focus; he simply wasn’t ready to relinquish control and the recognition that came with being the owner. With this new understanding, Campbell’s negotiator offered a partnership under which the owner would operate his restaurant and help develop the chain. The longer he stayed, the more money he would get for his share of the business. This satisfied the owner’s interests and Campbell was able to make the deal.

Step Five: “Use Power to Educate”

When the going gets heated, avoid the temptation to “escalate” the battle. Instead, explain the consequences of negative behavior and show the other parties that they have an alternative course toward a lasting, beneficial relationship, but only if you can “break through barriers” together. Help them understand that they cannot win without you. If necessary, explain your BATNA.

“Follow the biblical dictum: ‘Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to act’.”

When you hit insurmountable obstacles in a negotiation, change the environment. This includes turning your adversary into a negotiating partner without being vindictive. After all, “your goal is not to win over them, but to win them over.” That requires patience and perseverance, but if you create the right atmosphere, a small breakthrough can open many doors. Collaborate with your counterparts to prepare a “victory speech” in which they can explain how the settlement benefits their side. This can defuse their critics and keep your golden bridge intact.

About the Author

William Ury, Ph.D., is a negotiator, public speaker and author. He is co-founder and senior fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project. He is the co-author of Getting to Yes and Getting Disputes Resolved, and the author of The Third Side, Getting to Peace and The Power of a Positive No, among other books.

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Getting Past No

Book Getting Past No

Negotiating in Difficult Situations

Bantam,
First Edition:1991
 


8 January 2026

The Satisfied Customer

Recommendation

Experts see more than meets the eye when they evaluate customer satisfaction. Business professor Claes Fornell and his team at the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan developed the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a sophisticated customer-reaction monitoring system that produces indexes across multiple economic sectors, industries, companies and government agencies. In this book, Fornell discusses how his team quantifies the “unobservable” in customer service. His researchers measure things “we can’t see” and then develop their findings into useful customer satisfaction information. Fornell theorizes about the utility of the “summation of ignorance” and discusses neuroscience, quantum mechanics and relativity theory, all with impressive erudition and insight, and all in the service of making sure that you know how crucial it is to keep your customers satisfied. BooksInShort recommends his thorough, thoughtful and accessible treatise.

Take-Aways

  • Your profits depend on your customers’ level of satisfaction.
  • Today, the buyers of products and services call the shots, not the providers.
  • As customers gain power, companies respond faster and better to their concerns.
  • As a result, customer satisfaction improves.
  • Many corporate leaders do not understand how much customer dissatisfaction can devastate their financial prospects.
  • Few companies know how to measure or monitor customer satisfaction.
  • Improving productivity and cutting costs actually can undermine customer satisfaction.
  • Companies with satisfied customers almost always do well on Wall Street.
  • Good customer relationships are extremely valuable corporate assets.
  • The American Customer Satisfaction Index gauges Americans’ opinions about specific companies, primary industries and government agencies.

Summary

Never Take Your Customers for Granted

In 1997, after only four years as a U.S. Major League Baseball team, the Florida Marlins won the World Series, officially making the Miami-based squad the nation’s best baseball team. For such a young team, it was a remarkable accomplishment. Local baseball fans loved the Marlins. Sports writers agreed that fans were likely to turn out in large numbers in subsequent seasons to support the new champions. But almost immediately after the end of the ’97 season, Marlins’ owner Wayne Huizenga began trading off top stars to reduce the team’s hefty $47 million annual payroll. In return, Huizenga got additional draft picks and some no-name, but promising, players. The sports media described Huizenga’s frenzied moves to get rid of the Marlins’ best players as a “fire sale.” Undeterred, Huizenga continued quickly shedding high-priced baseball talent.

“Satisfied customers are not only the most consequential economic asset, but they also are a proxy for the sum total of the value of all other company assets.”

By the start of the 1998 season, Huizenga had cut his team’s payroll to $15 million, a notable achievement. But as far as the local fans were concerned, Huizenga’s sell-off drove a stake into the heart of the team. The Marlins went from being World Series champions in 1997 to being the worst team in Major League Baseball in 1998. Winning 54 games and losing 108, the Marlins flat out stunk. Just as bad, attendance fell 27%. The attendance the following year was even worse, off a whopping 42% from 1997. Since then, the Marlins’ attendance figures have been terrible. The team won the World Series again in 2003, but its ticket sales that year were 400,000 lower than during the dismal 1998 season following its first World Series win.

“The more powerful the buyers, the more damage they can inflict on sellers.”

Huizenga employed a classic business tool to improve his profits – cutting expenses. But with fewer fans coming to the games, he also ruined revenues. Marlin fans would not have cared if Huizenga slashed office expenses or ordered his executives to travel by bus. But he cut costs in the one area that is absolutely vital to customers’ satisfaction with a professional sports franchise: the players. Huizenga destroyed his customers’ relationship with their team and, thus, lost their loyalty. Despite new ownership, the Marlins have yet to recover from this gross business error. Never mess with customer satisfaction. The future of your business depends on it.

Buyers Are in Charge Today

In business, customer satisfaction is everything. To get ahead, you must constantly strive to boost the happiness of the people who pay for your products and services. How you act and what you do, or don’t do, really matter. The buyer is in charge now, thanks to globalization and increased purchasing options, including the Web. The Economist recently described today’s consumers as, “all-seeing [and] all-knowing.” They, not manufacturers or suppliers, call the shots, so you must please them. You cannot maintain profitability if customers are dissatisfied with your company or its offerings. Displeased customers will shop somewhere else and, if they are angry enough, they also will use “consumer-generated media,” such as Internet chat rooms, blogs and online bulletin boards, to speak ill of your company. Few businesses can withstand such an onslaught.

“The most important driver for customer satisfaction has to do with ‘fit.’ The better the fit between buyers and sellers, the better the outcome.”

Many corporate leaders seriously underestimate the impact disgruntled customers can have on the bottom line. Companies should find ways to measure customer satisfaction accurately, but, unfortunately, many do not or cannot. Indeed, when it comes to gauging customer opinions, a large number of companies seem to operate in the Stone Age. Their measurements are arbitrary, even random. Of course, customer satisfaction is not easy to assess. It is not something you can observe, like counting the number of people in a room. Indeed, many companies are almost completely lost when it comes to measuring customer reactions. Some don’t even know who their customers are, although such ignorance is dangerous. You cannot maintain a business if you can’t accurately measure how your customers feel. You need to know whether they are satisfied and, if they are not, you need to turn things around quickly.

“Too many companies have too primitive systems for customer satisfaction measurement.”

Measuring customer satisfaction means using the right focus to avoid gathering insignificant “noise” instead of meaningful data. Hone in on customers’ expectations about your product or service. Do your offerings measure up to their standards of quality and value? Ask customers to rate your goods against an “ideal version.” Learn what they think of the total experience of dealing with your firm. Think about the information you get in the context of your business. Format the data in understandable figures.

“Bad measurement leads to bad information.”

To be useful, customer satisfaction reports must be accurate and relevant. They should lead to action. As you review customer feedback, do not bury any negative findings. Always “maximize customer complaints.” This may sound counterintuitive, but it is not. Uncovering as many complaints as possible is an advantage. Once you know of problems, you can fix them. The real danger resides in the complaints you never hear, the hidden problems that can kill your business.

The Old Panaceas of Productivity and Cost Control

Many firms focus too much on productivity and cost cutting, and they let quality suffer. But when quality falls off, so does customer satisfaction. Strive for a good balance between being productive and keeping customers happy. Many companies worry too much about staying ahead of the competition. Instead, constantly keep your customers directly in your sights. Focus on them to the exclusion of all else. Get inside their brains and hearts. Keeping them happy is the way to get ahead. If you have robust customer relationships, your balance sheets will be strong.

“Today’s customers exchange information about their purchase and consumption experiences at a breathtaking pace.”

Many observers think that the United States is the world leader in productivity, but actually Europe is far more productive. Since 1950, productivity growth in Europe has averaged 3.3%, compared to 2% for the U.S. No matter where you run a business, however, increasing productivity is not always the benefit it may seem to be. Emphasizing it to the exclusion of other vital factors can be a huge mistake. If you have to cut back on quality or customer service to make your firm more productive, customer satisfaction will suffer.

“In today’s information age, failing to address a customer’s complaint can have large repercussions.”

Slashing costs is another area where you can inadvertently undermine customer satisfaction. In 2003, Circuit City, a chain of big-box electronic stores, cut nearly 10% of its workforce as a cost-savings measure. Alas, it targeted the highest-paid sales clerks, who, of course, were the most experienced and who had the most knowledge to share with consumers. Circuit City saved approximately $130 million with this radical downsizing, but it suffered a serious drop in customer satisfaction, which directly tracked parallel heavy losses in revenues. Since then, it has closed many of its stores.

“Maximize customer complaints, not customer satisfaction.”

Failing to nurture customer relationships is like attacking your company’s reason for being, its life force. In 2000, Robert Nardelli, a Jack Welch-type executive from General Electric, took over as Home Depot’s CEO. Nardelli quickly instituted a top-down, hierarchal management structure. He ran the company like a general runs an army. Old-time employees started calling it “Home Despot.” Nardelli hired as many military veterans as possible (17,000 on staff by 2005). One problem: Home Depot is a service business, but, as some analysts observed, “the military is trained to kill people, not to provide great service.”

“The customer with a complaint that we never hear may well be our biggest problem.”

With Nardelli’s changes, customer satisfaction at Home Depot fell by an alarming 11%. At the same time (not coincidentally) Lowes, a prime competitor, saw a 4% increase in its customer satisfaction. Previously, the two firms had nearly equal ratings with the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). However, within four years, Lowes’ ACSI rating grew much better than Home Depot’s. Lowes’ stock value went up 130% during that period, just as Home Depot suffered negative stock returns. The moral: Don’t trifle with customer satisfaction. This rule does not apply to every company. Comcast, the cable TV firm, is at the bottom of the ACSI list almost every year, but it is such a major player and monopolizes so many markets that it stays highly profitable. Customers cannot “punish” it by going elsewhere. It is often the only game in town.

"Surprisingly few companies keep track of customers lost, gained and retained.”

Many companies don’t understand their customers and regard acquiring them as a cost. Instead, consider the resources you allocate to customer acquisition as an investment. One day, you may want to capitalize your firm’s investment in customer service.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index

The ACSI, which measures customer contentment and trends, is an offshoot of an earlier customer approval measure – the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Barometer. Decades before that tool came along, businesses measured customers’ reactions with the Consumer Sentiment Index, developed by Hungarian economist George Katona, the father of “economic psychology.”

“Companies that fail their customers lose them.”

Firms with strong ACSI ratings have better stock market results than firms with low ratings. This makes sense. As Paul McCracken, chairman of President Richard Nixon’s Council of Economic Advisers, put it, “If that wasn’t so, we’d have to go back to the drawing board about how the economy works.” Research indicates that, on average, just a “1% improvement in customer satisfaction relates to a 4.6% increase in market value.” In a six-year test period, a hypothetical portfolio of companies with high ACSI ratings clobbered other well-known stock indexes. The ACSI portfolio beat the Dow Jones Industrials by 93%. It hammered the S&P 500 by 201%. And it blew NASDAQ stocks off the board by 335%. In a real-life situation – one with actual money on the line for three years – an ACSI portfolio seriously outperformed Wall Street. Clearly, happy customers are economic assets with “high returns and low risks.”

“Customer Asset Management”

Your customers and your relationships with them are valuable assets. You can protect them with Customer Asset Management (CAM), which is designed to lower risk and increase cash flow. You can use CAM to focus on customers and to target three individual groups – the buyers that you can in all likelihood retain, those you may not keep and the ones you will almost surely lose. Apply CAM methods to determine how much customers are worth, where you can gain new ones and which ones are too costly to retain. CAM lets you view your customers as a valuable “portfolio,” and then develop and implement your strategy accordingly.

“The purpose of business is to create a satisfied customer.” [ – Peter Drucker]

Focus on “measuring, developing and nurturing customer relationships.” Track new customers carefully against the customers you lose. Pay close attention to how factors such as price and product customization affect the experiences that customers recount. Pay attention to buyers’ feedback about how your company performs. More than any other factor, you can judge your firm’s value on the basis of your customer relationships. If they are strong, profits and shareholder value will take care of themselves. Maintain a solid customer base by delivering excellent customer service. Develop “switching barriers,” processes and logistics that make it difficult for customers to switch from your product or service to a competitor’s. For example, the cost and effort of moving from a PC computer to a Mac is a switching barrier.

Don’t Always Listen to Your Customers

If you have a CAM orientation, customer relationships are king. However, this does not necessarily mean that your customers are infallible deities. Treating them as all-knowing and all-seeing can be dangerous, as American Airlines learned the hard way. The company’s research indicated that business travelers, their most active customers, wanted more legroom in the coach section of the plane. American ripped out all the seats on their planes, removed a handful of rows and reinstalled the seats to give passengers a few extra inches of precious legroom compared to industry averages. American announced this new “added value” feature with an advertising campaign, but the new seating plan did nothing for the company’s sales. Within a few years, the airline abandoned the program and reverted back to its old seating arrangements. What happened? To its dismay, American learned that while extended legroom is an attractive feature for air travelers, it adds little to their overall customer satisfaction. Instead, passengers were concerned about more crucial factors, such as pricing and scheduling. Learn from American’s example: Find out what truly matters to your customers and plan accordingly. Then you and your customers can both be satisfied.

About the Author

Claes Fornell, a professor of business at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, is an expert on measuring and managing customer satisfaction.

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The Satisfied Customer

Book The Satisfied Customer

Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference

Palgrave Macmillan,
 


8 January 2026

The Road to Democracy in Iran

Recommendation

The author of this collection of short essays was imprisoned in his native Iran for advocating universal human rights based on freedom from pain, fear and intimidation. Akbar Ganji, dubbed Iran’s “most famous dissident,” distills his arguments into a few pivotal points that are openly, clearly idealistic – even more so in light of the policies of Iran’s rulers. Ganji’s essays are not practical, but philosophical, although he is very down-to-earth when he describes the plight of Iranian women. BooksInShort recommends them to those who are interested in finding out more about Ganji and, to a much lesser degree, learning more about Iran’s political environment.

Take-Aways

  • Author Akbar Ganji, an investigative journalist, was imprisoned in Iran for six years after he traced a series of murders of Iranian intellectuals to Iran’s secret police.
  • He has been called “Iran’s most famous dissident.” His ideas include the following:
  • Iran must change and should institute slow, democratic reform.
  • Pain, a common bond that unites all people, can serve as the basis for establishing universal human rights.
  • Human rights are the ability of people to determine their own future while being free from individual physical intimidation and fear.
  • The guiding “principle of an authentic life” is individual control over one’s destiny.
  • Iranian society today operates on an apartheid policy based on religion, race, gender and political allegiance.
  • Iranian society systematically discriminates against women on religious grounds.
  • Islam has three distinct interpretations: modernist, fundamental and traditional.
  • Islam remains largely traditional, stressing authority and belief in Mohammed. It accepts traditional hierarchies and divinity’s dominance in everyday life.

Summary

Foreword: Piety and Democracy

Akbar Ganji was once a commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. He objected to the repressive government and became an investigative reporter in the 1990s. He traced a series of murders of Iranian intellectuals to the hands of Iran’s secret police. He was imprisoned for six years as a pro-democracy dissident. In 2005, the last year of his sentence in Evin Prison, Ganji undertook hunger strikes for a total of “more than 70 days.” While he was in solitary confinement, his weight fell to 58 kilograms.

“In Iran liars claim: we have no political prisoners and no solitary cells, there are no hunger strikes in our prisons, our prisons are like hotels.”

Over the course of Ganji’s imprisonment, the nation’s prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, and the head of its Justice Department, Abbasali Alizadeh, issued a string of contradictory public statements: They claimed Ganji was being taught a lesson, that he had medical problems, that he did not have medical problems and, finally, that he had a respiratory illness. Prison officials beat him. One prison guard put a drug dealer into Ganji’s cell and told the dealer to kill him. When Ganji screamed and alerted the other prisoners about his new cellmate, the authorities backed off. Mortazavi told Ganji’s wife, “What will happen if Ganji dies? Dozens die every day in prisons; Ganji will be just one of them.”

“Today, my broken face is the true face of the system in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Ganji’s particular crime was criticizing Ayatollah Khamenei, then Iran’s unelected leader, who clamped down on those who pushed his limits on “religious democracy.” Ganji protested against human rights violations perpetuated by Iran and other oppressive regimes. He asked why society only discusses human rights as defined by regions, religions and civilizations, and he advocated universal human rights as an alternative. Ganji studied the great philosophers, and advanced a concept of universal human rights that differs from Aristotle’s rational philosophy. It also conflicts with the teachings of Confucius, according to authorities in Malaysia, China, Taiwan and Singapore who rejected universal human rights in 1992 for that reason.

“Has there ever been a time when human beings did not suffer from anxiety and fear, anguish and despair, injustice and oppression?”

Ganji proposes that pain is a common characteristic which unites all humans and can serve as the basis for establishing universal human rights, in that people should be free from threats and harm. However, if a society feels threatened, its people may curtail their own rights. For example, nations can conduct more inspections and institute heavier security during terrorist threats. The difference is that the citizenry must instigate these restrictions of personal liberties, not the government – and the loss of freedom must be temporary. People must monitor what transpires during these emergencies when rights are temporarily suspended. In the past, certain groups have capitalized on such suspensions to advance their political goals and inflict suffering, which is wrong even during the process of building a more just or egalitarian society. Here, Ganji draws on philosopher Karl Popper’s “negative utilitarianism.” Popper advocated the least amount of suffering for the greatest number of people and said that the pursuit of a utilitarian vision does not justify inflicting harm. Ganji’s ideas center on universal human rights, as follows:

The Basics of Human Rights

Human rights require freedom from individual physical intimidation and fear. Its ideals insist that people’s freedom to determine their own future is a pivotal “principle of an authentic life.” This means you can live the way you see fit as long as you do not infringe on the rights of others. Such an approach leads to a pluralistic society. However, in reality, shared political power is rare. Power is concentrated in institutions – and even families – and few of those who have it want to share it. At the national level, difficult, commonly bloody engagements usually accompany efforts to democratize political power. Such fights often involve the “lower classes” supported by intellectuals.

“The common experience of pain is thus the foundation for human rights.”

Since social wealth is a by-product of economic wealth, people must believe they are equals before they can work together in social and economic settings. Once people are equal, everyone has access to knowledge. Improved communication technology makes such access easier. More open information highlights the differences between modern and traditional societies, and shows how repressive governments differ from democracies.

“The idea of universal human rights is founded on the belief that human beings, in spite of some large differences, share a common human essence.”

People who understand these differences strive harder to attain a higher standard of living, which then makes them responsible for acting against social injustice. Working to correct societal wrongs enhances their humanity, since tolerating injustice demeans the human condition. Intellectuals have a special responsibility to promote universal rights, especially in Iran where abuses have been rampant. These abuses include imposition of the death penalty for non-Muslims and others, prison sentences for “dissidents,” the closure of more than 100 publications over the past eight years and many other actions that block the roads to democratic reform.

Democracy and Reform

Most revolutions are inherently violent and rely on political upheaval, but Iran’s current democracy movement is reformist, humanistic, informally organized and evolutionary. To succeed, it must be peaceful and not harm innocent bystanders. Trying to change a society peacefully is a long-term process. This realization aligns with Aristotelian “cultural essentialism,” which says cultural change in beliefs, rituals and emotions, must precede deep societal change. However, Iran presents a special situation. Even though some Shia seminaries propagate superstition and prejudice, it is possible to be Shia, Muslim and a reformer who believes in democracy. Yet some politically powerful clerics promote superstition through inherently undemocratic Shia fundamentalism since it bolsters their power. They “disdain...the rational mind,” and use violence to enforce religious law and interfere in citizens’ lives. They oppose the West and pluralism.

“Only movements that remain dedicated to peace, freedom and ending prejudice at every stage of their evolution can achieve victory and remain righteous.”

Reformists believe religious life under modern Islam is compatible with democracy. This contemporary view of piety embraces humanistic morality and rejects Islamic jurisprudence. It believes in the separation of the state from religious institutions, and objects to the ruling clerics’ unequal privileges and power. Reformers object to the Islamic advisory councils that act as “guardians,” supervising the public and promoting prejudice, especially against women.

“Together Islam and the West must free themselves of the shackles of their historical memories.”

Iran is isolated from the international community, but foreign military intervention is not the right way to depose its regime. Such military action could cover up foreign intervention in domestic affairs, creating more injustice for Iranians. Civil disobedience is the way to achieve humanistic goals. Violent, brutal actions violate universal human rights and play into the oppressors’ hands. To help Iran break out of its isolation and avoid military intervention, reformers must develop a foreign policy that includes both U.S. negotiations and Iranian self-determination. The reform movement should acknowledge the shortcomings of the past and hold the oppressors accountable, but should move toward reconciliation without letting punishment outweigh forgiveness.

Bigotry in Iran

Iranian society practices an apartheid policy based on religion, race, gender and political allegiance. While one class of people has “special rights” based on religious status and gender, another is downtrodden. However, the world has largely ignored Iran’s rampant “gender apartheid.” Clerics cite Koranic scripture to justify this discrimination, and to solidify their political and religious hold over women. Yet, Iran’s oppressed women still have lots of potential power, which is why the regime tightens its grip over them during times of political unrest.

“If these goals of democracy and human rights are valuable to us, we must struggle to achieve them.”

Correcting gender prejudice requires changes in Iran’s laws, culture and politics. Given Iran’s refusal to sign the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which 185 other nations signed in 1979, this will be very difficult. To date, all of the traditionalist ayatollahs, except one, have refused to support the convention. Any Iranian who brings up women’s rights can be imprisoned, since advocacy can be construed as a criticism of the Prophet Mohammed. The government can even kill those who are merely suspected of raising this topic and it faces no recrimination if the courts find that it administered the death sentence to avenge heresy. Deep prejudice against women occurs in several categories:

  • “Health and the value of life” – Women get less medical care, endure more illnesses and “suffer more than men from hunger and malnutrition.” This is, in part, because Shari’ah law puts greater monetary value on a man’s life than a woman’s. If a man kills a woman, and her family kills him in revenge (which Shari’ah allows), the woman’s family must pay “blood money” to the killer’s family since his life was worth more than hers.
  • “Sanctity of the body” – Traditional religion in Iran does not respect a woman’s right to control her body. Rape and abuse are common. Shari’ah law generally considers women chaste, but says that wearing immodest clothing invites unwanted sexual acts. This means male aggressors often go free. Religious law says a woman must comply with her husband’s sexual demands at any time and allows men to “physically punish an unruly wife.” As a result, rape within marriage is rarely prosecuted. If a man rapes a married woman, the aggressor can be prosecuted for violating her husband’s property rights, not for attacking the wife. Women who have affairs are publicly whipped or stoned.
  • “Dress” – The Islamic Republic forces women to wear head coverings and modest dress in public, though Iran’s former monarch, the Shah, did not require head coverings. Women cannot leave their homes without their father or husband’s authorization. With such restrictions on their mobility, most women cannot attend school. Illiteracy limits their political participation.
  • “Work outside the home” – Iranian women also need a male relative’s consent to work outside their homes. Even with permission, they cannot hold certain government or public sector jobs. This also curtails their political power. Traditional law justifies such bias by saying women are too emotional and irrational for such positions as judgeships.
  • Education – In many areas of Iran, females lack equal access to education, in part due to disagreements about the role of fatwas and other religious injunctions.
“We believe that the cost of a revolution exceeds its benefits.”

While religious modernists have issued new interpretations of Islamic laws to encourage better treatment of women, Iranian class distinctions give precedence to the “ruling Court,” including all religious traditionalists. Women face discrimination in divorce, custody, freedom to assemble, and the ability to become citizens and transfer citizenship to their children. Some modern Islamic theologians interpret the rules more liberally and are trying to make small, specific reforms.

Islam and the West

Western cultures have had a confused relationship with Islam, primarily because the West is largely Christian and secular. Over time, western Christians have changed their religion to accommodate modernity, though they acknowledge their religious heritage. The West enjoys material superiority and a powerful military, which has accelerated its global domination. In contrast, Islam remains largely traditional, and stresses authority and belief in the prophet Mohammed. It accepts traditional structured organizations and the dominance of divinity in everyday life. Islam began to decline around the time of the Renaissance, which marked the rise of Western civilization. Today, Islam is in a defensive mode, which helps explain the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism. To complicate the situation, Islam has three distinct religious interpretations:

  1. Fundamental Islam – Fundamentalism interprets the Koran and Mohammed’s teachings literally. It subordinates reason to faith, and it values reason only when it reveals literal truth. Shari’ah, fundamental observance, is practiced in all aspects of daily life. Shari’ah rejects pluralism and sees the West as antithetical to Islam.
  2. Modern Islam – This school of Islamic belief recognizes rational thought as the engine of the discovery of truth and knowledge. It emphasizes morality and the spirit of Islam, while acknowledging the need for religion to adapt to contemporary circumstances. It believes that a secular society can co-exist with an Islamic one.
  3. Traditional Islam – This branch combines fundamentalism and modernism, stressing the need to lead a spiritual, moral and ethical life. It accepts pluralism and understands the need to separate religion and the state. Traditional Islam is critical of the West, but blames Islamic society itself for the poor conditions in Muslim nations.
“The precondition for peace is tolerance, and the precondition for tolerance is that the pious of all faiths must accept religious pluralism and give up the conviction that their faith is superior.”

When Islam begins to accept the West on its own terms and not as its rival in a religious conflict, it can begin building a new spiritual relationship with itself and the global community.

About the Author

Akbar Ganji, a former Iranian military commander and investigative reporter, is a noted dissident. He was jailed for six years in Iran for advocating human rights. Since his release in March 2006, he has been active with the human rights movement outside Iran.

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The Road to Democracy in Iran

Book The Road to Democracy in Iran

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