Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourse
Emerging in scholarly discussions about political discourse over the past decade, the terms ‘post-truth’ and ‘denialism’ refer to disagreement not on public policy strategies but on the nature of truth itself. Policy facts are now contested in ways that disrupt mainstream political narratives and we...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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OpenEdition
2023-04-01
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| Series: | International Review of Public Policy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/irpp/3510 |
| _version_ | 1797692628664320000 |
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| author | Kris Hartley |
| author_facet | Kris Hartley |
| author_sort | Kris Hartley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Emerging in scholarly discussions about political discourse over the past decade, the terms ‘post-truth’ and ‘denialism’ refer to disagreement not on public policy strategies but on the nature of truth itself. Policy facts are now contested in ways that disrupt mainstream political narratives and weaken institutional legitimacy. In turn, the technocratic response of doubling-down on facts is faltering as the ‘burn it down’ vacuity of post-truth declares equivalent political legitimacy. This strident, self-assured irrationality offers few substantive policy visions, seeking only to bewilder and ‘own’ its perceived enemies including progressive ‘elites,’ science experts, and academics trying to understand the phenomenon. This article discusses disruption in the political discourse about fact-informed policy issues, focusing on a looming period of epistemic instability and the futility of using systematic analysis and logic to understand post-truth. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:31:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e400dfc098c54ecb85fafc5f54686422 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2679-3873 2706-6274 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:31:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | OpenEdition |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Review of Public Policy |
| spelling | doaj.art-e400dfc098c54ecb85fafc5f546864222023-09-05T08:05:03ZengOpenEditionInternational Review of Public Policy2679-38732706-62742023-04-01510.4000/irpp.3510Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourseKris HartleyEmerging in scholarly discussions about political discourse over the past decade, the terms ‘post-truth’ and ‘denialism’ refer to disagreement not on public policy strategies but on the nature of truth itself. Policy facts are now contested in ways that disrupt mainstream political narratives and weaken institutional legitimacy. In turn, the technocratic response of doubling-down on facts is faltering as the ‘burn it down’ vacuity of post-truth declares equivalent political legitimacy. This strident, self-assured irrationality offers few substantive policy visions, seeking only to bewilder and ‘own’ its perceived enemies including progressive ‘elites,’ science experts, and academics trying to understand the phenomenon. This article discusses disruption in the political discourse about fact-informed policy issues, focusing on a looming period of epistemic instability and the futility of using systematic analysis and logic to understand post-truth.http://journals.openedition.org/irpp/3510post-truthpublic policypolitical economypartisanshipepistemologyclimate change |
| spellingShingle | Kris Hartley Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourse International Review of Public Policy post-truth public policy political economy partisanship epistemology climate change |
| title | Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourse |
| title_full | Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourse |
| title_fullStr | Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourse |
| title_full_unstemmed | Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourse |
| title_short | Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourse |
| title_sort | owning the libs post truth in right wing political discourse |
| topic | post-truth public policy political economy partisanship epistemology climate change |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/irpp/3510 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT krishartley owningthelibsposttruthinrightwingpoliticaldiscourse |