Moral Anarchopathology of Lies (1/3):


Moral Anarchopathology of Lies (1/3):

Politicians’ Lies, a Sword Against Truth and Freedom

Mahmoud Sadeghi Janbehan


Translation assisted by ChatGPT (OpenAI). The original content and ideas remain the intellectual property of the author.


Definition and Position of Moral Anarchopathology

Moral anarchopathology is a branch of anarchology that studies ethical disorders and pathologies in connection with structures and practices of power. Unlike traditional psychological or social pathology approaches, which focus primarily on individual or group dysfunctions, this perspective emphasizes the systemic and structural links between ethical corruption and mechanisms of domination across individual, social, and political spheres.

In moral anarchopathology, “lies” are not merely individual unethical behaviors, but complex, multi-layered phenomena that can have:

  • Individual roots: traumatic experiences, authoritarian tendencies, erosion of moral courage, underdeveloped ethical rebellion during personal development, need to protect threatened positions or psychological security, and importantly, weakened ethical immunity.
  • Structural roots: as part of power strategies to distort truth, embedded within social hierarchies across various domains—from group dynamics to schools—manipulating public opinion, weakening collective will, and undermining justice as a core ethical function.

Moral anarchopathology, drawing on anarchology ethics, philosophy of ethics, political science, social psychology, and critical discourse analysis, allows for the identification of mechanisms that reproduce such ethical disorders and provides strategies to counter them.

Despite extensive research on lies in ethics and politics, few studies examine the intersection of power structures, ethical disorders, and mechanisms that perpetuate lies. The anarchopathological approach fills this gap by:

  • Shifting focus from the individual to the structure and individual-structure nexus.
  • Enabling historical and interdisciplinary analysis.
  • Proposing solutions based on liberation from domination, rather than merely behavioral correction.


Lies as an Ethical/Political Issue

In the ethical philosophical tradition, lies have always been seen as a threat to human virtue and social trust. Immanuel Kant regarded lies as absolutely unethical, even if they produce beneficial outcomes, because they damage human dignity and violate the principle of honesty.

In contemporary political philosophy, Hannah Arendt in her famous essay Lying in Politics (1972) demonstrated that lies in politics are not merely deviations but part of the structure of power production, especially when truth is replaced by the “official narrative.”

Noam Chomsky, critiquing the role of media in reproducing political lies, shows how “public thought control” is possible through selective distortion of reality. Foucault, through the concept of “regimes of truth,” explains that truth in any society is shaped within power relations, and its distortion constitutes an exercise of power.

Anarchist thinkers such as Bakunin and Kropotkin regarded lies as an intrinsic tool of states and ruling classes, since domination cannot survive without distorting the awareness of the masses.

From an anarchological perspective, lies are a “chronic disease of power”, present not only in authoritarian systems but also in liberal democracies—their form and method being the only elements that change.


Moral Anarchopathological Analysis of Lies

According to moral anarchopathology, lies are not necessarily due to ignorance, error, or individual fault; rather, they constitute a chronic disease of power and a hidden pillar of domination. This power source can be:

  • Internal and personal, stemming from the personality leadership system (cognitive, ethical, emotional, and Arco dimensions).
  • External, originating from power structures in different social domains.

In other words, the motivational factor of lies combines pathological internal authoritarian tendencies and social environmental influences, both shaping individual orientations in complex ways across personal and social life. Lies manifest in various forms in self-relations, interpersonal interactions, and social relations, fundamentally aiming to conceal truth and distort reality for specific purposes. From Cain’s first lie concealing the truth of his crime to modern politicians’ engineered deceptions, this pathological phenomenon consistently serves to consolidate authority, distort collective consciousness, and stifle moral courage.

Lies are inherently anti-truth and anti-freedom. When truth is denied or distorted, informed choice is eliminated, and humans are reduced to instruments in the game of power. Human dignity erodes, and the ethical space of society, instead of cultivating honesty and transparency, becomes a field of distrust and fear. Lies are intrinsically anti-human dignity, violating humanity’s most sacred needs and fundamental aspirations.

Lies are the perpetual signature of power-seeking politicians, signaling allegiance not to the people but to the survival of domination and personal or group interests. Unfulfilled electoral promises, distorted historical narratives, and economic cover-ups are examples of this signature.

In a dignity-centered society, lies represent the greatest threat, as they erode collective trust, fracture ethical cohesion, and weaken citizens’ courage to say “no” to injustice. Structural lies not only distort reality but paralyze ethical responsibility, producing what moral anarchopathology terms “collective ethical surrender”, where citizens lose the ability or willingness to confront the truth.


Countering Lies: A Moral Anarchopathological Approach

From a moral anarchopathological perspective, combating lies requires three simultaneous dimensions:

  1. Liberating awareness to uncover the structures and tactics of deception.
  2. Strengthening individual moral courage to resist pressure from power and majorities.
  3. Rebuilding collective trust networks based on transparency, accountability, and open dialogue.

Ultimately, any lie accepted in the political arena adds another brick to the wall of domination. A freedom-oriented and justice-based politics is impossible without fundamentally denying and rejecting lies. De-lie-ing politics is not merely an ethical choice but a prerequisite for freedom.

Thus, the central question of this study is: How have lies, from Cain to contemporary politics, become a structural phenomenon and fundamental threat to liberating ethics, collective trust, and human dignity, and what strategies can counter them?

Citation (for translation record and AI usage acknowledgment):

Sadeghi Janbehan, M. (2025). Moral Anarchopathology of Lies (1/2): Politicians’ Lies, a Sword Against Truth and Freedom. Retrieved August 14, 2025, from https://anarchology.blogfa.com

Translation assisted by ChatGPT (OpenAI). The original content and ideas remain the intellectual property of the author.


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