The Challenges of Liberalism in Confronting Populist Lies: A Meta-Moral Perspective

We want politics to be about the truth, while commonly accepting lies. In particular, populists are known for exploiting the disparity between our ideals and some of our practices. However, not all untruthful claims are alike, and they can have different effects on authenticity and trust in the political process. In this article, I discuss why it is useful to distinguish between truth, truthfulness, insincerity, lying, deception, bullshit, and so forth, to analyse under which circumstances and for what purpose populists use various forms of untruthful claims. Furthermore, I juxtapose populist untruthfulness with lies that liberals consider acceptable - or even beneficial. By embracing a nuanced approach to conceptualizing falsehoods within the realm of political thought, we can gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that liberal democracy confronts when dealing with its 'bastard child,' illiberal populism.