Harari, Yeval Noah -- “Why Fiction Trumps Truth,” New York Times (24 May 2019)

Dave — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 23:32:22 +0000

If political loyalty is signaled by believing a true story, anyone can fake it. But believing ridiculous and outlandish stories exacts greater cost, and is therefore a better signal of loyalty. If you believe your leader only when he or she tells the truth, what does that prove? In contrast, if you believe your leader even when he or she builds castles in the air, that’s loyalty! Shrewd leaders might sometimes deliberately say nonsensical things as a way to distinguish reliable devotees from fair-weather supporters.

Yuval Noah Harari (b. 1976) Israeli public intellectual, historian, academic, writer [יובל נח הררי]
“Why Fiction Trumps Truth,” New York Times (24 May 2019)

Harari, Yeval Noah -- “Why Fiction Trumps Truth,” New York Times (24 May 2019)

Dave — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:20:56 +0000

The truth is often painful and disturbing. Hence if you stick to unalloyed reality, few people will follow you. An American presidential candidate who tells the American public the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about American history has a 100 percent guarantee of losing the elections. The same goes for candidates in all other countries. How many Israelis, Italians or Indians can stomach the unblemished truth about their nations? An uncompromising adherence to the truth is an admirable spiritual practice, but it is not a winning political strategy.

Yuval Noah Harari (b. 1976) Israeli public intellectual, historian, academic, writer [יובל נח הררי]
“Why Fiction Trumps Truth,” New York Times (24 May 2019)

WIST Quotations

Harari, Yeval Noah -- “Why Fiction Trumps Truth,” New York Times (24 May 2019)

Harari, Yeval Noah -- “Why Fiction Trumps Truth,” New York Times (24 May 2019)