The First Step To A Better Democracy
Breaking the cycle of lies and manipulation
We know that politicians lie. The problem is that lying can be effective in gaining and maintaining power. While lying produces results, it will continue.
The lies are not the only problem, however. Distorted and flawed reasoning can be just as effective in delivering political support. Making simplistic, unfounded and flawed conclusions is sadly as influential as lying. Thin end of the wedge arguments, correlation implying causation, attacking the person not the policy and other non-sequiturs of almost every possible kind. Political manipulation through unreasonable and unjustifiable conclusions is rife. Partisan and adversarial politics produces an extraordinary amount of flawed reasoning and point scoring.
Our best choices invariably remain unchosen. Although some fact checking organisations attempt to intervene, these organisations are simply one voice among many louder voices. They are also limited to addressing the lies alone. The flawed arguments and conclusions invariably go unaddressed.
The misrepresentations of special interest groups, lobbyists and corporations have been astonishingly effective in both slowing legislative change and in producing poor legislation. Legislation delayed can allow devastating and harmful problems to remain for decades…
