A professor of psychology at the London School of Economics explores how the pursuit of perfection can lead to burnout and depression and shows what we can do to resist the modern-day pressure to be perfect to lead a more purposeful and contented life.
Mr. Curran has produced a manifesto damning our economic system for creating and maintaining a warped set of values that drive perfectionism ... A strange and imperfect book ... The charts in it are abysmal, like PowerPoint slides that escaped an institutional bureaucracy. The author’s injunction to accept yourself in all your unique and imperfect glory is too pat ... But maybe those things aren’t his job. As an explanation of how the destructive illusion of perfectionism arises and as a critique of the economy that creates it, this is an important book.
[Curran] makes a vigorous case, albeit one occasionally marked by cliché ... His argument errs in treating perfectionism as a purely cultural phenomenon.
Curran offers solid suggestions on how to avoid the perfection impulse ... Unfortunately, he wanders off the point in the final chapter, when he discusses sociopolitical reforms like a universal basic income and progressive taxation ... However, the author delivers many useful lessons and valuable insights.
