Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[sarai]

It's official: politicians lie, and we expect it

May 19 2003

After intensive research, scientists have concluded that politicians lie. Glen Newey, a political scientist at the University of Strathclyde, concluded that lying was an important part of politics in a modern democracy.

"Politicians need to be more honest about lying," he said, and voters expected to be lied to in certain circumstances, and sometimes even required it.

"Politics should be regarded as less like an exercise in producing truthful statements and more like a poker game," Mr Newey said."And there is an expectation by a poker player that you try to deceive them as part of the game."

He said lying by politicians can occasionally be justified, such as when national security is at risk, and the public even has a "right to be lied to" in cases where they do not expect to be told the whole truth, such as during a war.


Copyright © 2003 The Age Company Ltd