"Does this mean that experts, as a group, are liars who shouldn’t be trusted? No." That's a bit of a silly answer, isn't it? Lies necessarily undermine confide

"Does this mean that experts, as a group, are liars who shouldn’t be trusted? No." That's a bit of a silly answer, isn't it? Lies necessarily undermine confidence in what someone is saying. It would be _foolish_ to continue to put the _same_ trust in that person as if nothing happened, at least until they've regained that trust. I'm not saying you wouldn't hear that person out if practical reasons made that sensible, but you'd do so with a greater skepticism than before. People in positions of authority must be especially careful as they are like the city on a hill. They are under the greatest scrutiny and their actions are also most capable of producing scandal and rotting the proverbial fish from head to tail "Which brings me to the reason experts should be more reluctant to lie to the public: They aren’t experts on the topic of when to lie." There is no appropriate scenario when lies are morally acceptable. I realize the author is operating according to some utilitarian calculus, but utilitarianism is a bankrupt and morally pernicious moral theory. Lying is not just wrong because it has bad effects, which it most certainly does and some of which have been described by the author, but also because it is intrinsically wrong. It perverts speech which is intrinsically ordered toward telling the truth (lies couldn't work otherwise). It is an act of power and domination. You don't always have to. or even must not, tell the truth, or you may in some cases engage in mental reservation, but never lie. And in the case of Fauci & Friends, I am not convinced that he could not have achieved the same thing without lying. And frankly, Fauci would not be responsible for how people reacted anyway if he acted rightly. That's another thing that needs to be stated. Authorities shouldn't be totalitarian and coercive overlords. If an authority makes a sound recommendation, and people choose to ignore it and this leads to bad results, that's on those people, not the authority. If you take your ego down a notch, acknowledge your own limited power and the limits -- epistemic, practical, and moral -- of your authority, then you'll understand that society isn't "run" by its leaders. Society exists on its own and leaders play more a guidance role. You job isn't to secure some end result at all costs. That's dehumanizing and treats citizens as if they lacked personhood and personal responsibility. "the same mistake so many smart people make — that because they’re smart about one thing, they’re smart about everything." A general truth. People well-versed in one area are easily tempted into thinking they're competent in all areas. "Think of them as an overprotective parent, not as an enemy." An overprotective parent thus becomes an enemy, as in, their good intentions do not bless their actions and their infantilizing treatment is itself harmful. Besides, when people find out they're being infantilized, they cease to trust you and begin to suspect evil motives. So if you're going to frame lying as a practical matter, then at least be consistent and accept the consequences of your actions.