Self-help sins: what the genre gets wrong

自助罪恶:该流派所犯的错误

Editor's Picks from The Economist

2026-01-08

8 分钟
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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Self-help books promise transformation but deliver something more revealing: an archaeology of anxiety. The genre says more about who we've become than how to live well.
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  • The Economist.

  • Hello, this is Rosie Bloor, co-host of The Intelligence, our daily news and current affairs podcast.

  • Welcome to Editors Pics.

  • We've chosen an article from the latest edition of The Economist that we thought you might enjoy.

  • Please do have a listen.

  • To understand modern self-help books, open always remember the boy,

  • the mole, the fox, the horse, and the storm.

  • The sequel to the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse, and no doubt the prequel to the the boy,

  • the mole, the fox, the horse, and the massive royalty check,

  • these animal parables topped Britain's bestseller charts at Christmas.

  • They have sold many millions of copies, often a bad sign,

  • and have been described as heartwarming, a worse one.

  • Open this volume, and it does not disappoint.

  • Its animal protagonists are fond of life, each other,

  • and of saying things about love in a charming handwritten font.

  • Its insights are supposedly aimed at children, yet loved by adults.

  • Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you, It can tell you you're no good,

  • that it's all hopeless," reads one entry, which recently went viral on Instagram.

  • But remember this, you are loved and important, and you bring to this world things no one else can.

  • So hold on.