Chapter 42.
“The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.” — Lao Tzu
In the relentless battle against oppression, the simple act of speaking truth to power emerges as a formidable weapon. Thor Halvorssen, the Venezuelan-born human rights advocate, film producer, and founder of the Human Rights Foundation, keenly observes a profound paradox: dictatorships, despite their outward projection of strength through military parades and cultivated celebrity endorsements, are inherently “terrified” and “weak.” Their deepest dread, he asserts, is the spread of truth, which he vividly describes as “contagious.” This inherent fragility underscores that even seemingly immovable authoritarian regimes can crumble with startling rapidity, a testament to the enduring power of conviction. Halvorssen emphasises that while governments may deploy state media, fear-mongering, and a barrage of online bots to control narratives, the sheer courage displayed by those who dare to speak truth to power is intoxicating and inspiring, acting as a potent counter to the manufactured strength of dictatorial regimes. However, this optimism must be tempered by the historical reality of states like Russia, where, as experience shows, the innate human desire for freedom is often subverted and suppressed rather than universally ingrained as a cultural norm. The very existence of forums like the Oslo Freedom Forum, which Halvorssen also founded, serves as a vital space where activists and dissidents connect, share their truths, and collaboratively strengthen the collective understanding of each dictatorship’s vulnerabilities. This exchange of information and solidarity directly challenges the isolation and despair that dictatorships relentlessly seek to impose, fostering a spirit of enduring hope.
The notion of “speaking truth to power” has long been a foundational concept in the fight against oppression, echoing through the philosophies and actions of countless human rights advocates. As articulated by the American Friends Service Committee, it embodies the moral imperative to confront injustice with unwavering honesty, regardless of personal risk. Figures like Mahatma Gandhi, with his “truth-force” of satyagraha, powerfully demonstrated this, leading mass movements that exposed the moral bankruptcy of British colonial rule in India, ultimately securing the nation’s independence through public non-cooperation and the stark revelation of colonial exploitation. Václav Havel, the playwright and dissident who became president of Czechoslovakia, consistently used his essays and plays to subtly, yet profoundly, expose the absurdity and lies at the heart of the communist regime, contributing significantly to its eventual, peaceful dismantling. His work illustrates how even veiled truths could chip away at totalitarian control.
Nelson Mandela’s own autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, offers a powerful testament to this. It details his unwavering commitment to exposing the injustices of apartheid and his belief in a democratic, free society where all live in harmony with equal opportunities – an ideal he dedicated his life to achieving, even if it meant death. Mandela’s journey from prisoner to president highlights how his relentless pursuit of truth and reconciliation ultimately dismantled a deeply entrenched system of oppression, inspiring global change. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, through his relentless advocacy against apartheid, and Martin Luther King Jr., through his leadership in the American Civil Rights Movement, both masterfully used moral appeals and the stark presentation of injustice to force a reckoning with uncomfortable truths, leading to historic strides in civil rights and equality.
Michel Foucault keenly observed the inherent peril in such an endeavour, noting that those who courageously pursue truth to power often risk their liberty or even their lives. This danger is lethally real in highly repressive states, where, as the fate of figures like Alexei Navalny tragically confirms, the state will actively prevent the emergence of a domestic opposition leader, often through assassination or imprisonment. Nevertheless, the act of speaking out remains a foundational challenge to state power. This theme is explored in works like The Cambridge Foucault Lexicon, which addresses the inseparability of power and resistance. The human rights movement, championed by organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, continues to build upon this foundation, achieving tangible victories. Their meticulous documentation of abuses—such as Amnesty International’s detailed reports on political prisoners and extrajudicial killings, and Human Rights Watch’s investigations into war crimes and systemic discrimination—serves to publicly disseminate facts and advocate for victims. This directly challenges official narratives and upholds the belief that transparency and factual information are indispensable for achieving justice and fostering change.
The strategic power of truth is further elucidated in theories of nonviolent resistance, most notably in Gene Sharp’s extensive work, particularly his three-volume work The Politics of Nonviolent Action. Sharp’s analyses demonstrate how exposing the truth of injustice, both to the oppressor and the broader public, systematically eradicates a regime’s legitimacy and support. In the Philippine “People Power Revolution” of 1986, the widespread dissemination of information about the Marcos regime’s corruption and electoral fraud, often through independent media and word-of-mouth, galvanised millions to nonviolently resist, leading to his eventual overthrow and a triumphant return to democracy. Methods of nonviolent action frequently rely on generating awareness and fostering moral persuasion, ultimately influencing public opinion and even, in some cases, shifting the attitudes of those in authority.
The profound philosophical connection between truth and freedom has been explored by thinkers across centuries. Pope John Paul II emphasised that “in truth are freedom and excellence,” viewing the public proclamation of truth as the most effective cultural resistance against violent oppression. This was a consistent theme throughout his pontificate, as his direct critiques of totalitarian systems in Eastern Europe resonated deeply with oppressed populations, contributing to their eventual liberation. Baruch Spinoza’s more complex ethics, with its distinction between illusory “free will” and achievable “freedom,” hints at a liberation found through a deeper understanding of reality. More recently, Miranda Fricker’s concept of “epistemic injustice,” explored in her influential book Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing (2007), highlights how power structures can actively suppress knowledge and discredit voices. This can be seen in how authoritarian regimes attempt to erase historical atrocities or silence whistleblowers, making the very act of seeking and recognising truth a critical ethical and political imperative.The historic democratic transitions, from Portugal’s Carnation Revolution in 1974 to Spain’s peaceful transition after Franco’s death in 1975, and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union after years of internal dissent and public exposure of systemic failures, often reveal the catalytic role of internal dissent, leading to significant and positive societal transformations. This dissent is fuelled by access to alternative information and a growing awareness of the true, often brutal, nature of their regimes.
Marcel Dirsus, in his 2023 book How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive, offers a detailed examination of the mechanisms behind regime collapse. He often highlights how the truth, when effectively communicated and widely embraced by a populace, can expose the fundamental weaknesses of even seemingly invulnerable dictatorships.
Kenneth C. Davis’s Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy (2020) vividly portrays the ascent and eventual vulnerabilities of powerful autocrats. He showcases how their carefully constructed illusions of strength often unravel when confronted with inconvenient truths, paving the way for democratic progress. Yet, as the 40-year rule of Francisco Franco and the Kim dynasty’s 70-year grip on North Korea attest, the suppression of truth can be a highly effective, long-term state endeavour. Even Vladimir Putin’s 25-year tenure in Russia shows that effective information control can ‘fool enough of the people all of the time.’
The endurance of such regimes demonstrates that the mere existence of truth is insufficient; it requires the critical pain threshold of the populace, or the elite, to be breached before collective action is galvanised. The exposure of corruption, repression, or economic failures must be compounded by a level of widespread personal suffering that makes the risk of acting on the truth less daunting than the pain of enduring the status quo. Dictatorships often strategically manage this pain to avert the critical threshold. In modern Russia, for instance, the disproportionate mobilisation and deployment of non-ethnic Russian troops from remote, economically deprived regions in the conflict in Ukraine is a tactic designed to insulate the politically vital cities of the ethnic Russian heartland—Moscow and St. Petersburg—from the pain and discontent of military losses. This systematic pain displacement is a cynical, yet effective, method of managing the domestic political risk inherent in prolonged conflict. The erosion of a ruling power’s credibility through the undeniable exposure of corruption, repression, and economic failures frequently precedes widespread unrest and, ultimately, regime change, demonstrating truth’s ultimate victory.
The importance of transparent, truthful information extends even to debates around global development. For instance, the discourse around aid efficacy, prompted by books such as Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid (2009), highlights the fundamental role of unmediated truth and transparency in achieving effective outcomes, even in the economic sphere. This mirrors the central principle of resistance: that only direct knowledge and verified need—a simple, unmediated truth—can bypass power structures and lead to effective action.
Next Chapter: Protest and the State: Challenging Vested Power
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