The victory of lies
Fake news and lies from politicians would be very easy to uncover through reality. But more and more people are no longer getting through to reality – and that is precisely the calculation of politicians such as Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump.
Lying is part of politics; that’s nothing new. It is an instrument of power and is used as such. Nevertheless, the use of lies seems to have reached a new high – just in time for this year of elections, so to speak. The first of the major elections has already been successfully concluded: The ruler on both sides of the Urals was re-elected more or less for life with a record result. On the other side of the Atlantic, the big election is still to come, as is the one in Europe.
It is no surprise that the elections on both sides are accompanied, not to say determined, by all the means that can be used under the title of ‘lies’. Since the beginning, Putin’s rule has been a sprawling construct of lies and stagings; his narratives not only determine the perception of the Russian population – insofar as this can be ascertained at all – but also of many people in the West who work in favour of him.
A world under Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping does not bode well for all those who still value freedom.
And Donald Trump’s first term in office was already characterised by ‘alternative facts’, so that we would prefer not to follow his new election campaign at all – especially after the storming of the Capitol and his role in it.
Instead, we anxiously hope that it won’t be enough for him this time, because a world under Trump II and the almost eternal rulers Putin and Xi Jinping does not bode well for all those who still value freedom.
But why can such lies have such an impact? In principle, they would be easy to uncover. A glance at reality is usually enough to show that they are nothing more than the pipe dreams of egomaniacal rulers. However, this is not possible – especially not with reference to this very reality. This reality can no longer assert itself because more and more people are unable to penetrate reality. Instead, they are distracted, misguided and absorbed by massive structures of lies, grandiose myths and sophisticated narratives.
In the maelstrom of half-truths …
Supporters of conspiracy theories in particular claim to cultivate the philosophical virtue of scepticism. But do they really? In fact, there is a long debate in philosophy about how we perceive reality and whether we can ever grasp it in its entirety.
In his allegory of the cave, the philosopher Plato told the story of the prisoners who only see the shadows and have to leave the cave in order to recognise the real world, the ideas – in other words, what it is really all about. He involved his interlocutor Parmenides in a never-ending dialogue about his theory of ideas.
The conversation ends in hopeless confusion and ultimately leads back to the original question: Can we recognise the world as it is? Or can we only approach it through ideas? However, the dialogue is not an invitation to invent reality. Rather, Plato is concerned with the insight that even scepticism has its limits. However, only healthy scepticism leads to knowledge; it must ultimately cancel itself out in order to reach the truth.
It is obvious that supporters of conspiracy theories and other eccentric narratives do not cultivate healthy scepticism. They find their ‘information’ in the widely ramified channels of social media and get ever deeper into the maelstrom of half-truths and lies.
Jean Baudrillard, one of the early philosophers of media and technology, said back in the 1970s that at some point ‘things will play their own game’ and that the various forms of ‘simulation’, as he described the reality depicted in the media, would increasingly dissolve the dichotomy between reality and unreality.
.. people are being manipulated, radicalised and polarised
Baudrillard, who was still philosophising in the age of television, long before the internet and artificial intelligence, spoke of a spreading ‘hyperreality’ – a phenomenon that seems almost innocent compared to today’s ‘deep fake’. Nevertheless, Baudrillard, together with the postmodern ‘anything goes’, still provides the basic melody for the idea that ‘everyone can have their own truth’.
And in the maze of lies…
This is exactly what the powerful are aiming for: They create the reality that secures and expands their power. They invent the stories that support their actions and legitimise their actions. Their calculations work: People are manipulated, radicalised and polarised. They find themselves in a society that is divided by realities that are no longer shared. People are literally living in different worlds. Those who have lost their way in the maze of lies can no longer find access to reality; and those who insist on reality can no longer get through to those who have lost their way.
As we all know, lies have short legs, and the question arises as to whom they will ultimately fall back on. The ruler in the Kremlin is still clinging to his idea that the trail of the Islamist attack in March leads to Kiev. Whether he wants to conceal his own failures or use the terror to further strengthen the repressive apparatus is irrelevant. Practically nobody can rebel against him anymore.
… their choice falls back on the voters
The candidate for office in the USA wants to be dictator – just for the first day – and close the border with Mexico. The reality TV star’s statements are skilfully balanced between a pinch of reality and exaggeration. Whether the USA wants to get involved with such a president again is in the hands of its citizens. Their choice will come back to them one way or another.
Important elections are also coming up in Europe, and here too the electorate is well on the way to falling into the trap of division. Even in Switzerland, the new leadership of the national-conservative Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is playing with ‘its own reality’. The lie has proved its worth in politics – hope has not. It is up to the voters to favour reality over lies.