Knowledge and Power, or How Valuable is the Truth?

It's often said that knowledge is power. However, at least politically and socially, this does not always appear to be true. It's easy to find instances of our public officials spreading mistruth and, more than ever, blatantly lying to us. Certain social groups may dominate a society and be ignorant of (or manipulate) how the system works in their favor.

It's important to recognize that they do this because it works. Human beings are designed to process information in a way that simplifies it so that it conforms with our existing views and can be easily digested. Since the truth is often complex and not easily understood, human beings will almost always prefer the simplicity of lies and misrepresentations. In a democracy, this means that the the truth has little chance of affecting political outcomes. Research shows that American voters are profoundly politically ignorant.

I would even argue that there is an inverse relationship between knowledge and power; often the powerful lack knowledge and the knowledgable lack power. This should not be a surprise. We gain knowledge by constantly questioning how the world works around us. When a group is powerful, they have little reason to question how a system works, whereas those who feel oppressed by a system have every reason to question it.

However, it's important to remember that everyone is biased. So while the less powerful may be more knowledgeable about how a system really works, the truth will always be somewhere between the views of the more powerful and the less powerful - even though the balance of knowledge may tip in the favor of the less powerful.

In the end, I do believe the truth wins out. Unfortunately, this occurs over timespans that are largely irrelevant to our individual lifespans. The concept of democracy has been around for more than two millennium. Yet, while time and time again history shows that democracy is the most successful form of government, it has only really taken root in the last few hundred years, and even then we continue to see it in only a limited form. In the United States, universal suffrage has existed in theory for less than 100 years, and in practice for about 50 (though it is still made overly difficult in some places, and one could say the right to vote is in decline in America). So the truths that may appear obvious to some of us today may take centuries or even millennia to become widely accepted, long after we are all dead. And progress is not always steady. It comes in fits and starts and societies often take small or large steps back. 

I suppose that does not sound very comforting. Knowing that things may be better someday does little to help us in the here and now. But the truth is not comforting. An idea that makes you comfortable is one that ends your search for the truth. Be uncomfortable. And do something about it.