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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| Language: | English |
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2023-04-01
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| Series: | International Review of Public Policy |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/3510 |
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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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-275d58bdfed44bb89fbaedd593fdb606 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2679-3873 2706-6274 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | OpenEdition |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Review of Public Policy |
| spelling | doaj-art-275d58bdfed44bb89fbaedd593fdb6062025-01-09T16:26:11ZengOpenEditionInternational Review of Public Policy2679-38732706-62742023-04-015647410.4000/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.https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/3510public policypost-truthclimate changeCovid-19political economypartisanship |
| spellingShingle | Kris Hartley Owning the libs: Post-truth in right-wing political discourse International Review of Public Policy public policy post-truth climate change Covid-19 political economy partisanship |
| 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 | public policy post-truth climate change Covid-19 political economy partisanship |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/3510 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT krishartley owningthelibsposttruthinrightwingpoliticaldiscourse |