Todd McGowan, "Self-Sabotage: How We Try Not to Flourish" (Polity Press, 2026)

Self-Sabotage: How We Try Not to Flourish (Polity Press, 2026) contends

that an unconscious impulse to undermine our own interests plays a

dominant role in our lives. The idea of a primary drive to

self-destruction is at odds with the prevailing common sense in a world

where almost everyone believes that we strive to flourish. Yet often we

fail to flourish not because some people are wicked but because the

drive to sabotage ourselves outweighs the pleasures of flourishing. Our

tendency to self-sabotage distorts our politics, throws off our romantic

relationships, and generally makes human existence difficult. It is why

we become involved with partners who continually create unhappiness for

us, and also why we elect leaders who derail the nation. Although the

act of self-sabotage is clearly self-destructive, it appeals to us