How Authoritarians Twist Language into Weapons

By Matthew Sharpe, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne.

The world finds itself in a cultural setting in which large swathes of democratic countries place their faith in faux salvific “strongmen,” part of whose “populist” appeal is based on their ability to lie, exaggerate, and bully opponents with impunity.

The philosopher, author, and French resistance member Albert Camus wrote that the struggle against totalitarianism was a struggle to preserve a few vital distinctions.  

It lies in the ability to think and speak clearly.  

We cannot allow language to be distorted by those ambitious for power at all costs, to become a cultural weapon in their hands.

The basic principle of those who favour authoritarian rule is that everything is political: from parliamentary debates down to the lyrics and allures of Taylor Swift.  When culture is seen as war, the willingness to use language to deceive, divide and demonise opponents is projected as a virtue.

For democracies, the principal means to overthrow liberal norms and institutions is to create a false equivalence with democracy’s defenders.  If achieving one’s political goals requires lying and misrepresentation, then one must first accuse the people one wishes to deceive of bei...