Why Leaders Who Bullshit Are More Dangerous Than Those Who Lie

Hamid Foroughi, University of Portsmouth; Marianna Fotaki, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, and Yiannis Gabriel, University of Bath

Bullshit seems to be the new currency in politics. Around the world, a new breed of politicians is flourishing, for whom lying and bullshitting is part of their everyday routine.

This is earning them both popular appeal and widespread revulsion. But what is bullshit and why is it so effective in our time?

Bullshitting is different from lying.

The American philosopher Harry Frankfurt, who attempted to build a theory of bullshit, explains this clearly. He argues that whereas the liar cares about the truth – their aim is to prevent others from learning it – the bullshitter does not care about the difference between the truth and falsity of their assertions.

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