Deliberate ignorance has been known as the 'Ostrich Instruction' in law
courts since the 1860s. It illustrates a recurring pattern in history in
which figureheads for major companies, political leaders and industry
bigwigs plead ignorance to avoid culpability. So why do so many figures at
the top still get away with it when disasters on their watch damage so many
people's lives? Does the idea that knowledge is power still apply in
today's post-truth world? A bold, wide-ranging exploration of the
relationship between ignorance and power in the modern age, from debates
over colonial power and economic rent-seeking in the 18th and 19th
centuries to the legal defences of today, The Unknowers shows that
strategic ignorance has not only long been an inherent part of modern power
and big business, but also that true power lies in the ability to convince
others of where the boundary between ignorance and knowledge lies.