The master of false equivalence
War is Peace
When George Orwell wrote about the Ministry of Truth in Nineteen Eighty-Four, he was not just writing about an institution of an authoritarian government that lied. He was writing about something much more sinister than that.
Authoritarianism is unsustainable. But its most potent and important weapon to defend itself is false equivalence.
Right now, as we watch authoritarianism march on our democracy in the United States, as we watch our little authoritarian’s assault on the Constitution and the courts, there is much hand-wringing and chatter about lies and “fake news.”
There is nothing fake about “fake news.” They are specially crafted narratives that are believed precisely because they are consistent with the presumptions, biases, and prejudices of the people to whom they are fed. Authoritarianism cannot sustain itself. It has no natural authority or validity, so it absolutely depends on creating artificial support. “Fake news” is merely one useful tool for doing this.
And there is nothing merely un-factual about the lies told by our little authoritarian and his sociopathic henchmen and enablers, the GOP. The lies are not told merely to confuse and disorient people.
The lies are necessary to cover over the factual inadequacies and weaknesses of the authoritarians. Their actual abilities and performance are quite generally below average. There is little about the authoritarians that stands on its own merit to give them natural authority. The lies are more often a diffuse pathological defense mechanism than a calculated deceit in a particular context focused on a particular outcome.
But the most powerful tool authoritarians use to craft their essential support structure, the structure without which they cannot function, is not “fake news” or outright lies. It is false equivalence.
And George Orwell was an absolute master of this tool. He laid it out as plain as day in Nineteen Eighty-Four. You have no excuse for not reading this book.
Authoritarianism can never generate enough of its vital support using only “fake news” and outright lies. That’s like trying to win the 100 meter dash by running in place. Both of these require constant input and attention by the authoritarians.
What they must do instead is create a pattern that feeds itself. How do they do this?
Like any good exploit, they use the human mind against itself. They create a linkage between a thing you abhor and a thing you like, making you think you like the thing you abhor, or abhor the thing you like.
War is peace.
An illegitimate, racist protest of a legitimate President Obama is the same as a legitimate protest of an illegitimate, racist President Orange Authoritarian.
Punching a fucking Nazi is the same as a fucking Nazi killing millions of people.
Rejecting intolerant persecution and violation of a person’s human rights is the same as persecuting and violating a person’s human rights.
The right to say that human rights should be respected is the same as saying that human rights should be arbitrarily violated.
This utterly asinine bullshit is absolutely essential for authoritarianism. So fight it like your life depends on it because it does.
