From Karl Popper to Karl Rove – and Back

The American public has proven remarkably susceptible to the manipulation of truth in recent years. The lesson is that without an explicit commitment to the pursuit of truth, the division of powers, free speech, and free elections cannot ensure that political discourse leads to a better understanding of reality.

NEW YORK -- In his novel 1984 , George Orwell chillingly described a totalitarian regime in which all communica­tion is controlled by a Ministry of Truth and dissidents are persecuted by political police. The United States remains a democracy governed by a constitution and the rule of law, with pluralistic media, yet there are disturbing signs that the propaganda methods Orwell described have taken root here.

Indeed, techniques of deception have undergone enormous improvements since Orwell’s time. Many of these techniques were developed in connection with the advertising and marketing of commercial products and services, and then adapted to politics. Their distinguishing fea­ture is that they can be bought for money. More recently, cogni­tive science has helped to make the techniques of deception even more effective, giving rise to political professionals who concentrate only on “get­ting results.”

These professionals take pride in their ac­complishments, and may even enjoy the respect of an American public that admires success no matter how it is achieved. That fact casts doubt on Karl Popper’s concept of open society, which is based on the recognition that, while perfect knowledge is unattainable, we can gain a better understanding of reality by engaging in critical thinking.

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