2021/11/16 by Jason Stanley · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Italian Fascism and Post-war Society
paper · doi:10.18574/nyu/9781479811595.003.0010
All governments lie, but the nature of their lies differs across regimes. Reason is central to liberal democracies, and so when a leader lies to the people in a democratic society, the act of lying nonetheless retains a trace of respect for these citizens as fellow reasoners: They must be persuaded even if by means of deception. But fascist lying has no such need. Rather, the aim of fascist rhetoric is to reshape reality around the distinctions between friend and enemy. Fascist lies are mere exercises of power—they do not even pretend to be true—and do not respond to citizens as potential reasoners. The current political moment calls for us to reassert the importance of truth against efforts to turn it into yet another tool of political power.