"This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore.
A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong.
And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want."
- Hannah Arendt, (14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German historian and philosopher.
The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any.
Arendt's extensive body of work includes many nuanced discussions on truth, lies, and the nature of totalitarianism, and this quote reflects themes from her writing on totalitarianism and the nature of truth.
Rebecca Solnit
