Faustian Bargain? NO THANKS! Stay Sane in a Polarised Age

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Faustian Bargain?

No Thanks!

Staying Sane in a Polarised Age

Why are so many people drawn to the spectacle of power? They cheer when charismatic demagogues sow division and spread chaos. They are entertained by shamelessness, meanness and buffoonery. In the process, they lose both reason and compassion.

The 'Faustian bargain' means selling your soul in exchange for power, wealth or success. But how do you say ‘no thanks’ to the offer – and keep your sanity?

There is a time-tested strategy for building resilience against this temptation: the seven classical virtues. Discover an ancient way to defy the demagogues of our time!

How to Resist the Faustian Bargain

Guide in 7 Classical Steps

Read here!

Read & listen! Audio narration included.

In-depth exploration

Long-form essay, 10 chapters.

ABOUT ME. I’m Erik Pleijel from Sweden. My interest is in theology and philosophy that can be rooted in everyday life. I have done some work in programming and in water supply in Africa.

In my book Adventures and Reflections I share my experiences. Here are extracts from newspapers that have written about it:

In fast-moving, sometimes dramatic texts , he takes us to genocidal Rwanda, civil war Sri Lanka and an absurdly closed North Korea. ... But he is not an ordinary technology nerd, rather a humanist, philosopher and theologian. Who thrives on human diversity, listens, learns, reflects and tries to empathise with the history and identity of other individuals and cultures. ... [Swedish prime minister], give this book to your ... minister for international development ...!

Column in Bohusläningen newspaper (6 Oct 2014), by Stefan Edman.

Based on his life experience, he reflects on aid, philosophy and Christian faith on a Lutheran basis. It is a wise man who writes and his wisdom is often easily transferable to everyday life in Sweden.

Review in KT, the Swedish church newspaper (34-2014), by Mikael Mogren (Bishop).

Read from the book!

Recommend!

ErikPleijel.se/eng

Faustian Bargain? No Thanks! Staying Sane in a Polarised Age, Copyright © 2025 Erik Pleijel. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International. You must include this link: ErikPleijel.se/eng. You can view the full license details here: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 .

Illustrations: Cartoon queen, sloth: FriendlyStock; Cartoon priest: Copyright Brad Fitzpatrick; Aristotle Kaio hfd CC BY-SA 3.0;

Contact: email