Truth be Sold — On Truth in the 21st Century and Beyond
How the truth divides us and can reunite us
Anyone who reads the news and follows the discussions on social media can hardly help but conclude that nowadays we only believe in our own truth. The result: a society without solidarity and a declining trust in politics and media. In this book, philosopher Rob Wijnberg brings a powerful corrective to the information war of our time and shows us that truth is still alive and well.
Our collective understanding of truth allows us to label fake news – and to observe that in these times it appears all but meaningless. With an eye to restoring solidarity for the challenges ahead, Wijnberg examines truth’s changing social functions throughout history. To reignite the progressive imagination, he reimagines progress with a concrete future based on solidarity and information, not as a commodity, but a public good.
Wijnberg charts in four stages what he calls the ‘privatization of truth’, or truth’s transformation from a collective good to an individual commodity. The first shift occurred in the transition from premodern times to the Enlightenment, when truth no longer represented transcendent salvation but objective progress. When this progress led to the horrors of the 20th century, however, truth shifted to the realm of personal subjectivity.
Since the 1980s, driven in part by the attention economy and media, truth has been an individual commodity. With it, our ability to reimagine a progressive future has crumbled. If we are to actually make the material transition a sustainable future requires, truth must become a social consensus that reflects how the world can be fundamentally better – beyond ‘de-growth’.
A new book by bestselling author Rob Wijnberg, for the readers of Rutger Bregman
On the collapse of truth as a common good, and a hopeful restoration of progress
Combines an examination of truth’s changing social function throughout history with a concrete vision for the future
A lively and compelling argument against labelling our society as ‘post-truth’
Year of publication
2023
Page count
192
Publisher
De Correspondent
Rights
Channa van Dijk
channa@decorrespondent.nl
Rights sold
Beck (Germany)
Sample translation available
“An enthusiastic plea for believing in progress and a positive view of humanity that can help us through the climate crisis and other troubles.”
Headstrong
Brankele Frank thought she could do it all. Combining a career as a neurobiologist with a job as a strategic consultant for McKinsey? Writing for newspapers and magazines? No problem, there was still enough time for a triathlon. But when her life comes to a screeching halt her first concern is recovery. After a while, Frank begins to search for answers.
.jpg&w=828&q=75)
Pain — An Expedition Into Uncharted Territory
Pain causes a lot of suffering and comes with a huge price tag, yet it remains under-reported. Words often fail us. We try to measure it on a scale of 1 to 10, but have no idea what those numbers mean. Can we ever know what someone else’s pain feels like?
Helenka — A Pioneer Among Scientists and Freedom Fighters
When Anna van Suchtelen sees a picture of her grandmother Helena (Helenka) Drecke seated in a laboratory, it piques her curiosity and launches her on a quest. Helenka is wearing a dress, looking defiantly into the camera, and there is a sign behind her that reads ‘Danger: 4000 volts’.
Reflection Time
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, just as the world went into lockdown, Meredith Greer realized she was pregnant but couldn’t keep the baby. The experience of waiting for, undergoing, and recovering from an abortion was isolated and isolating, encapsulated as it was in a larger, collective act of waiting.
