Lucy P Marcus - Truth, lies and trust in the age of Brexit and Trump
Nowadays, facts and
truth are becoming increasingly difficult
to uphold in politics (and in business and even
sports). They are being replaced with what the American
comedian Stephen Colbert calls “truthiness”: the expression of gut feelings
or opinions as valid statements of fact. This year might be considered one of
peak truthiness.
To make good
decisions, voters need to assess reliable facts, from economic data to
terrorism analysis, presented transparently and without bias. But, today,
talking heads on television would rather attack those with expertise in these
areas. And ambitious political figures – from the leaders of the Brexit
campaign in the United Kingdom to US Republican presidential candidate Donald
Trump – dismiss the facts altogether.
The environment is
ripe for such behaviour. Voters, particularly in the advanced economies, are
jaded by years of broken political promises, revelations of cover-ups, and
relentless political and media spin. Opaque or dubious dealings have cast doubt
on the integrity of organisations and institutions on which we should be able
to rely. For example, the New
York Times recently published a series of articles on thinktanks that
highlighted the conflict of interest faced by those who operate as analysts,
but are beholden to corporate funders and sometimes also act as lobbyists.
As soon as a few
experts are found to have been offering half-truths – or worse – the
credibility of the entire field can be called into question. Christine Todd Whitman,
who was Head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 11 September 11
2001, told residents of New York City that the air was safe to breathe and the
water was safe to drink in the days after the terrorist attack on the World
Trade Center. But, as a
2003 EPA report noted, the agency “did not have sufficient data and
analyses to make such a blanket statement” at that time. With cases of severe respiratory
illness piling up, Whitman now admits that the statement was wrong.
Likewise, as the recently published Chilcot
report showed, the Iraq War was launched in 2003 under false
pretences. Intelligence reports had not established that there were weapons of
mass destruction in the country, yet British prime minister Tony Blair
dutifully followed US president George W. Bush in ordering his military to
invade. The consequences of that decision are still emerging. If our leaders can be so willfully wrong about such consequential matters, how
can we believe anything they tell us?.. Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/16/truth-lies-and-trust-in-the-age-of-brexit-and-trump
see also
Tom Phillips - Beijing shuts down art exhibition on violence against women
The Crises of Party Culture: by Yang Guang
The Crises of Party Culture: by Yang Guang
RSS tradition of manufacturing facts to suit their ideology
कुमार प्रशांत - तो राष्ट्रीय स्वंयसेवक संघ ने एक बार फिर गांधी से दो-दो हाथ करने का मन बनाया है // Bharat Bhushan: BJP icon SP Mookerjee complicit in raising funds for defending Gandhi's assassins
कुमार प्रशांत - तो राष्ट्रीय स्वंयसेवक संघ ने एक बार फिर गांधी से दो-दो हाथ करने का मन बनाया है // Bharat Bhushan: BJP icon SP Mookerjee complicit in raising funds for defending Gandhi's assassins
