The Age Of Assholes: Does It Pay To Be A Jerk? (VIDEO)

WATCH: Does It Pay To Be An A-Hole?

HuffPost Live host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin sat down Wednesday with a panel of community members to explore the ascent of the "asshole" in today's business world. In a world in which the biggest names in business -- Trump, Jobs, Zuckerberg -- have reputations as jerks, does it really pay to be nice anymore?

Joining Ahmed in a Google Hangout was Geoffrey Nunberg, an expert in "assholism" and author of "Ascent of the A-Word." Nunberg declares today the "age of assholism" saying: "To be an asshole isn't simply to be a jerk or a mean person, it's to have an expanded self-delusion... a delusion that your role as the CEO or the boss entitles you to behave toward other people in ways that deny their basic humanity." Nunberg explains the difference between an "asshole" and a similar word in the clip below:

Entrepreneur Ellen Rohr points out that there are plenty of business leaders who reject the notion that you have to act like a jerk to get ahead:

Self-proclaimed asshole Tucker Max (who, in true asshole form, showed up late to the discussion) was asked whether he thinks he was born an asshole or whether his assholism came as a result of his success. See his answer in the clip at the top.

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