Who decides what is taboo? When a taboo is broken, society often reacts reflexively with outrage and anger. Unconscious defense mechanisms play a central role in this.

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Raphael M. Bonelli provides a psychological analysis of a phenomenon that not only threatens freedom of speech but also shapes our political culture. How does a topic become taboo? And why is it suddenly forbidden to think the obvious?

With illuminating analyses, Bonelli uncovers the fault lines of a society that sees itself as free and tolerant yet leaves no room for dissenting opinions. A society that risks losing precisely the freedom it claims to defend.

The defining issue of our time – profound, provocative, and psychologically explained.