One could argue that asshole production proceeds at a uniform and steady rate and that there has merely been an increase in asshole reporting, with increasing media scrutiny of public figures and profit-driven exposure of assholes on TV, in print, and on the Web. At the same time, however, increasing reportage also creates powerful incentives for assholes to bare themselves in public, for a large audience. That could itself cause asshole production to rise on average.
Aaron James – Assholes: A Theory