Cultural Deceptions: How progress is making us miserable and how we can get back on track

Author:   Ashley Humphrey
Publisher:   Australian Academic Press
ISBN:  

9781923114104


Pages:   172
Publication Date:   14 November 2025
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Cultural Deceptions: How progress is making us miserable and how we can get back on track


Overview

Why are we getting richer, healthier and more connected - yet feeling more anxious, lonely and dissatisfied than ever? Across the developed world, rates of mental distress are climbing even as material standards reach historic highs. The paradox is stark: in our pursuit of progress, we have created a culture that undermines the very wellbeing it promises to deliver. In Cultural Deceptions, social researcher Dr Ashley Humphrey reveals how the dominant values of modern life - individualism, materialism, and relentless self-focus - have quietly shaped our understanding of what it means to live well. We have been sold the idea that success is measured by achievement and consumption, but in the process we have eroded the deeper psychological needs for connection, purpose and belonging. Drawing on decades of psychological and sociological research, Humphrey unpacks how Western culture's fixation on competition, status and self-improvement has created widespread discontent - and what can be done about it. Blending accessible scholarship with vivid storytelling, he challenges readers to question the assumptions that drive their daily lives and offers practical, evidence-based ways to rebuild meaning and mental health from the ground up. From the pitfalls of ""me before we"" thinking to the power of community and the rediscovery of purpose, Cultural Deception provides both an incisive critique of our times and a hopeful path forward. Part social diagnosis, part roadmap for renewal, Cultural Deceptions invites readers to look beyond the false promises of modern living and rediscover what truly makes for a good life.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ashley Humphrey
Publisher:   Australian Academic Press
Imprint:   Australian Academic Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.331kg
ISBN:  

9781923114104


ISBN 10:   1923114107
Pages:   172
Publication Date:   14 November 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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