Abstract
Popular dissatisfaction with politics and politicians in liberal democracies seems to be a phenomenon of increasing interest but disputed significance. Such dissatisfaction is comprised of a range of discontents, including disappointment that a preferred candidate or party was not elected to office; opposition to particular government decisions; outrage at so-called ‘broken promises’; and claims that some or all politicians have engaged in inappropriate behaviour to gain, retain or benefit from public office. The suspicion that politicians lie is an unmistakable element in this amorphous compound of dissatisfaction, and the one on which this chapter focuses. I do not propose to hazard whether on account of popular dissatisfaction generally politics is now in crisis (though, like Goot,1 I doubt it), but rather to isolate and examine the validity and weight of the charge of lying itself.
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Notes
Murray Goot, ‘Distrustful, Disenchanted and Disengaged? Public Opinion on Politics, Politicians and the Parties: An Historical Perspective’, in David Burchell and Andrew Leigh (eds.), The Prince’s New Clothes: Why do Australians Dislike Their Politicians? Sydney: UNSW Press, 2002.
Meg Bartin, ‘Poll Finds Little Faith in Politicians Worldwide’, International Herald Tribune 19 November 2004, www.iht.com/articles/2004/11/18/news/ poll.html.
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John Tower, Edmund Muskie and Brent Scowcroft, The Tower Commission Report, New York: Bantam Books, 1987;
Lawrence E. Walsh, Iran-Contra: The Final Report, New York: Times Books, 1994.
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Conal Condren, ‘Trust, Lies and Politics’, in David Burchell and Andrew Leigh (eds.), The Prince’s New Clothes: Why Do Australians Dislike Their Politicians? Sydney: UNSW Press, 2002, p. 147.
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David W. Lovell, ‘Political Promises — What Do They Mean?’, Quadrant 408, July 2004.
John Dunn, Western Political Theory in the Face of the Future, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979, p. 27.
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Lovell, D.W. (2007). Lying and Politics. In: Primoratz, I. (eds) Politics and Morality. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230625341_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230625341_11
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