"Seen from the viewpoint of politics, truth has a despotic character. It is thereforehated by tyrants, who rightly fear the competition of a coercive force they

"Seen from the viewpoint of politics, truth has a despotic character. It is thereforehated by tyrants, who rightly fear the competition of a coercive force they cannotmonopolize, and it enjoys a rather precarious status in the eyes of governments thatrest on consent and abhor coercion. Facts are beyond agreement and consent, and alltalk about them – all exchanges of opinion based on correct information – will contributenothing to their establishment. Unwelcome opinion can be argued with,rejected, or compromised upon, but unwelcome facts possess an infuriating stubbornnessthat nothing can move except plain lies. The trouble is that factual truth,like all other truth, peremptorily claims to be acknowledged and precludes debate,and debate constitutes the very essence of political life." Excerpt from Truth and Politics by Hannah Arendt in the Feb. 25, 1967 issue of The New Yorker magazine. Highly recommended.