O.K. I get it. Fake news will be banned. There will be no use for court cases that involve slander, libel or defamation. No problem there, legal standards are only enforced on a selective basis anyway. Heck look at immigration.
If fake opinions are ever banned, that will be the end of politics as we have always known it. The truth has no utility in politics. If fake opinions are banned, there won’t be a word said in the halls of Congress.
Think of the countless dollars that will denied professional athletes who get paid for endorsements. What will happen to the advertising industry as a whole? In time telling lies in general could be banned. Just think, many rooms we walk into will be completely silent.
Just be glad that we have people in government to tell us what is real and what is not real. Look at all the good that system did the Germans during the 1930s and 1940s.
The upcoming Republican presidential debates provide an opportunity to present a lesson on telling lies. The art of telling lies is an important aspect of evolution. Lying effectively is an important tool in the realm of survival. Non human animals lie without realizing what they are doing. A white polar bear does well because it is the same color as the snow and it is hard to see. Being hard to see makes it easy for the bear to sneak up on prey and avoid being shot by hunters. Cats are very dishonest about their intentions when stalking prey.
Deception is an important tool in this world because all animals are ruled by the process of dominance and subservience. My euphemism free observations indicate that language developed so that human beings could lie to one another more efficiently. The lie is a tool for dominating others and exploiting their work efforts for personal gain.
The truth is normally not used in politics. Something other than the truth is much better for getting votes. The best liar is most likely to win an election. On several occasions since announcing Donald Trump has told the truth when speaking to an audience. Telling the truth will doom his candidacy if he continues the practice. Any candidate who is truthful provides all other candidates with opportunities to attack. Trump is a smart man. Don’t expect the honesty to continue.
How can one spot a lie? Here are some giveaways.
1.) Compliments to the audience are always lies. The first order of business in effective lie telling is to get the listener to swallow the first lie. People are very likely to believe a complement. Once the first lie is swallowed the listener is more likely to believe the next one.
2.) It is what you want to hear. Tell a man what he wants to hear and he will be a believer. All of the candidates will do this.
3.) The speaker is broadcasting. There are no pauses in the speech. The truth comes out more slowly with a less theatrical presentation.
4.) It is a government program that is just right for you. Nothing is given to anyone through government. Nothing is gained or changed without coercion.
5.) A candidate wants to return to some golden era of democracy, or free markets. No such periods exists.
6.) The Bible is quoted. Hardly any Christians have ever read the Bible but they believe everything in it.
7.) The speaker is bright and bubbly. This is not a normal mode for a person. Bright and bubbly is an art that is cultivated for the purpose of gaining cooperation. This is fine in a private business. In politics, you are getting set up for the big whopper.
8.) Action must be taken immediately. This is how the TARP Bill, Obama Care and countless other bad laws have been imposed on the American Public.
9.) Fear is introduced. I can’t remember a time when a politician scared listeners, and it turned out that he was telling the truth.
10.) Human interest stories are always lies. When a politician eludes to a certain person or family to make a point, The point he is making is a lie. This is making use of the fallacy of composition. The audience is expected to be see the individual as typical.
Those are ten giveaways. There are many more. Listen to the Republican debates this week and you will hear some or all of these. Listen to all of the debates and you will hear them again.
Just Another Day at the Whorehouse is a cute Curbside Jimmy that is just right for the present times.
How often and when do you hear the truth? For an economist, that is an easy question to answer provided the economist’s mind is not trying to avoid the answer.
You hear the truth when honesty has utility to the person who is communicating with you. More often than not the truth is rejected by the person who is hearing it. Politicians lose votes by telling the truth, so you are likely to hear something else. Commercial enterprises which advertise must lie because consumers will only respond to embellishments and outright fantasies.
I will say it again. When a lie is told there are normally two guilty parties. There is the liar of course and also the one for whom the truth isn’t good enough. Does Curbside Jimmy get a grant from the government to ride the rails?
The K.C. Moan A find traditional tune from the 1920’s
O.K. I get it. Fake news will be banned. There will be no use for court cases that involve slander, libel or defamation. No problem there, legal standards are only enforced on a selective basis anyway. Heck look at immigration.