Lying Beyond Scruples

Lies and manipulations have long been part of social life, but the rise of Trump and Trumpism has made these practices excessively blatant and obscene, challenging our ability to respond effectively. This book explores this shift through sociological, anthropological, philosophical, and communicological perspectives, analysing the emergence of a new form of lying and manipulation—anti-/non-/post-truthful, anti-/non-/post-ethical, and anti-/non-/post-reflexive. Using the Slovenian case of Trump-inspired practices, Kotnik presents an analytical model of resistance as a means of self-empowerment against these disruptive and harmful tactics. She examines how open liars and transparent manipulators have become socially tolerable in our increasingly “mentirocratic” societies and argues that it is crucial to resist these practices both in principle and in action. Kotnik’s work offers a stimulating investigation into why the open lie and transparent manipulation have become socially acceptable and why they must be actively opposed.