Ronson explores the idea that many corporate and governmental leaders are psychopaths whose actions to others can only be explained by taking that fact into account, and he privately uses the Hare test to determine if he can discern any truth to it.

He meets Paul Britton, the former NHS clinical psychologist and criminal profiler who had played a key part in the erroneous arrest of Colin Stagg for the murder of Rachel Nickell.

He suggests that we should not judge individuals only by their "maddest edges", or necessarily assume that 'normal' society is as rational as some might like to think; on the other hand, real and serious problems that people can have should not be dismissed because it suits an ideology (such as Scientology).

He does believe that Hare's construct of psychopathy applies to some people, and that their victims deserve sympathy, but is concerned about the "alarming world of globe-trotting experts, forensic psychologists, criminal profilers, traveling the planet armed with nothing much more than a Certificate of Attendance, just like the one I had.

[13] Dr. Hare also released a longer rebuttal of Ronson's book, stating that it trivializes the work of clinical professionals and presents psychopathy in an unrealistic and overly simplistic manner.