The foulest damage to our political life comes not from the 'secrets' which they hide from us, but from the little bits of half-truth and disinformation which they do tell us. These are already pre-digested, and then are sicked up as little gobbits of authorised spew. The columns of defense correspondents in the establishment sheets serve as the spittoons.
Interpretation
The biggest threat to politics comes from the misleading information given to us rather than hidden secrets.
E. P. Thompson highlights the dangers posed by incomplete truths and misinformation that are presented to the public. He argues that the real harm is not merely in the secrets that are kept from the citizens, but in the selective and often twisted information that is shared, which can mislead and manipulate public opinion. This suggests that a lack of transparency and honesty in political communication can be more harmful than outright deception.
In practice
In a political debate about misinformation, this quote could highlight the dangers of manipulated truths.
If we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, if we choose to keep a tax break for corporate jet owners, if we choose to keep tax breaks for oil and gas companies that are making hundreds of billions of dollars, then that means we've got to cut some kids off from getting a college scholarship.
Liberals seem to assume that, if you don't believe in their particular political solutions, then you don't really care about the people that they claim to want to help.
If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
It is impossible that the whisper of a faction should prevail against the voice of a nation.
In the 1990s, we were certain that Saddam Hussein had a nuclear arsenal. In fact, his factories could barely make soap.
If, for example, existing government intervention is minor, we shall attach a smaller weight to the negative effect of additional government intervention. This is an important reason why many earlier liberals, like Henry Simons, writing at a time when government was small by today's standards, were willing to have government undertake activities that today's liberals would not accept now that government has become so overgrown.
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