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disciplines to explore the role of narratives in explaining
(as the subtitle has it) “how stories go viral and drive
major economic events.”
There are, of course, well-known narratives — by
the likes of canonical novelists including Herman
Melville, Nikolai Gogol, and Theodore Dreiser — that
shed light on aspects of management and business. Now
someone’s come along with a book saying that narrative
itself is indispensable for understanding economics —
and by extension, everything else.
Most executives and entrepreneurs will be tempted
to respond: “Told you so!” But before you dismiss Shiller as the bearer of obvious
tidings, note that narratives, as he defines them, aren’t just stories. “The words
narrative and story are often used interchangeably,” he writes. “But according to
the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a narrative is ‘a way of presenting or
understanding a situation or series of events that reflects and promotes a particular
point of view or set of values.’”
People need narratives. It’s one of the ways by which we make meaning and, in
the author’s view, an important way in which we differ from other animals. Social
media and global interconnectedness have radically democratized the ownership
of narrative, which can make it more
difficult than ever for a business to
control its own story. When a narrative
catches on — when it goes viral — it
becomes a compelling version of reality.
“We can think of history,” the
author tells us, “as a succession of rare
big events in which a story goes viral,
often (but not always) with the help of
an attractive celebrity (even a minor celebrity or fictional stock figure) whose
attachment to the narrative adds human interest.”
For business, narratives are a double-edged sword. You or your product can
suddenly take off and achieve phenomenally rapid success. Sometimes that success
People need narratives.
It’s one of the ways by
which we make meaning
and an important way in
which we differ from
other animals.