Truth in the time of infowars: Moral politics and conscience

Kacper Szulecki

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

Speaking truth to powers-that-be and overthrowing a “regime of lies” were both dissident trademarks during the Cold War era. But what if overreliance on such an idealized and static notion of Truth can be a problem in an age of post-factual politics and information warfare? In this essay, I first problematize the idea that “truth will set us free” and re-read Václav Havel’s The Power of the Powerless together with a contemporary work-the film Camouflage by Krzysztof Zanussi-to find other foundations for political strategies, beyond the “struggle for truth,” that might transcend the posttotalitarian situation and inform our normative choices and political agency today. In a reality over-flooded with information, where spreading doubt and forging counternarratives has become a weapon, and where conspiracy theories seem to gain ground, relying on a self-evident distinction between Truth and Lies no longer has the power for political mobilization. It is individual conscience-nesting moral and political responsibility within the individual-rather than an externally existing Truth that might prove a more productive compass in a world of multiple vantage points and continuous re-interpretations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)320-327
Number of pages8
JournalEast European Politics & Societies
Volume32
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 May 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dissidents
  • Krzysztof Zanussi
  • Post-truth
  • Truth
  • Václav Havel

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