Private Truths, Public Lies By:"Timur Kuran" Published on 1997 by Harvard University Press Preference falsification, according to the economist Timur Kuran, is the act of misrepresenting one's wants under perceived social pressures. He argues that the phenomenon not only is ubiquitous but has huge social and political consequences. Drawing on diverse intellectual traditions, including those rooted in economics, psychology, sociology, and political science, Kuran provides a unified theory of how preference falsification shapes collective decisions, orients structural change, sustains social stability, distorts human knowledge, and conceals political possibilities. This Book was ranked 30 by Google Books for keyword public.