Confronting Absurdity

The necessity for dissent

“Certainly, anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.” – Voltaire, “Questions on Miracles”

With what sentiment do we now watch the assembling of Trump’s team? Horror? Disbelief? Resignation?

But beyond this unpleasantness, a darker reality intrudes. What does the election of Trump say about the health of our body politic? How can millions of people believe that it’s a good idea to return to power a man who flaunts his bigotry, hatred, and disdain for democracy? What does the belief of those millions of Americans say about this country – and what does it say about the power that will rest in the hands of Donald J. Trump?

Recently I’ve been reading an ambitious book that may shed some light on these questions. “Propaganda in Autocracies: Institutions, Information and the Politics of Belief” is about information and media systems. Published last year, it’s an ambitious attempt to analyze the variety of strategies used by autocrats around the world.

Spoiler alert: Not all autocrats are the same, and their strategies reflect the different constraints that the autocrats face. To summarize a 500+ page book in a few sentences, the autocrats employ two main types of propaganda: “honest propaganda” and “absurd propaganda.”

Honest propaganda mixes some truth with favorable slants or perspectives, seeking to persuade citizens to support the autocrat, perhaps in some sort of electoral process. The election might be more-or-less rigged, but expression of public support is important. The propaganda apparatus needs to have some reputation for credibility, so there will be elements of truth mixed in with blatant bias. Both American PR pioneer Harold Lasswell and Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels recognized that persuasive propaganda should include a mix of truth and falsehoods.

But Absurd Propaganda is a different animal, used in different circumstances with a different intent. Absurd Propaganda reminds me of the scene toward the end of “1984.”

“In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable?”

Absurd Propaganda is not used to persuade; the point of absurd propaganda is to demonstrate the autocrat’s domination and capacity for violence. The autocrat does not need to persuade the people about the merits of his regime. By his use of Absurd Propaganda, the autocrat shows his domination of the people, and his indifference to their opinions about whether the sky is blue or what is the sum of 2+2.

Donald Trump, of course, says some things that are clearly absurd and demonstrably false, but beyond that I am thinking of actions and choices that he is making. Repeatedly, he demonstrates complete disdain for norms or laws that used to constrain political figures. The list is so long that we don’t even recall many of these actions or positions that were so outrageous at the time. The non-release of tax returns. The conflicts of interest and the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. The removal of official documents to Mar-a-Lago. The summoning of a mob to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. All these events and news items have come and gone, and a majority of US voters still supported him on Nov. 5. Donald Trump now is assembling a cabinet that likewise disdains norms of qualifications or ethics.  Are we already at the stage where Absurd Propaganda can be used, because the President-Elect is already demonstrating his indifference to public opinion?

Perhaps, but we’re not in North Korea yet.

As I consider our situation, I’m also recalling key lessons from another very thick book, “Manufacturing Consent.” The work by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky analyzes the US Media System as a propaganda model, and it also makes valid points about the use and power of propaganda in general. One of the points I consider in these challenging times is that the authoritarian regime holds power by convincing the populace that challenges to the regime’s power are aberrant. Not to conform with the views propagated by the regime is unhealthy and strange. For this reason, the regime must quash dissent.

Conversely, those of us who oppose the regime gain strength by recognizing that we are not alone. Our opposition is valid. Two and two does equal four, despite government proclamations. To dissent now is not only healthy – it is the only way that we will reclaim what is left of democratic institutions – and begin to restore our body politic to health.