Living in an age of lies

Book review: Post-TruthAn overly optimistic hope on the reassertion of good government.

Dr Matthew Partridge
By
published
in Features

Post-Truth:Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About Itby Evan DavisLittle, Brown, £20(Buy at Amazon)

We live in an age where information is more accessible than ever.But instead of making us wiser, this seems to be making us more susceptible to misinformation, bias and downright lies. Take Donald Trump, who is able to get away with saying anything, no matter how false.

Still, this book isn't just about Trump. "Although the orange panther stalks his pages", BBC journalist Davis tackles the topic "by largely eschewing politics", says Nick Cohen in The Observer. "His care and his determination to make complicated ideas accessible show, above all, why he is such a good broadcaster." Yet his verdict that "good government will reassert itself and all will be well" may be too optimistic.

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Davis also forgets that exaggerated claims in politics are not new, even from respected figures: "Churchill in June 1945 predicted that nice Mr Attlee would have to resort to Gestapo' methods", says David Goodhart in the Evening Standard. And he also misses a bigger point. "The old elite filters have been bypassed and the masses, warts and all, are having their say."

Dr Matthew Partridge
Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri

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