Abstract

GIBSON, David R. Enduring illusions: The social organization of secrecy and deception. Apunt. investig. CECYP [online]. 2017, n.29, pp.12-47. ISSN 1851-9814.

Sociologists theorize that people comply with the dictates of states and other organizations out of selfiinterest or because of the perceived legitimacy of those in authority. Some organizations, however, are based on lies, or secrets, and it would seem that these should be very short-lived, given how easy it is for the truth to escape. This article lays the foundations of a sociology of deception, focusing on lies and secrets successfully maintained for years or even decades. The ideas of Gofman and Simmel provide a theoretical starting point. Then Bernard Madof"s Ponzi scheme is considered as a case study. Drawing on that and other examples, the article culminates in a theory that distinguishes between barriers to knowing, barriers to asking, barriers to telling, barriers to perceiving, barriers to believing, and barriers to acting. Together, these may counter the natural entropic tendency for information to leak and difuse, in part because the efectiveness of one sort of barrier may ofset imperfections in others.

Keywords : Deception; secrecy; organizations; interaction.

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