Most of our elected officials would go to prison, except there would be no one to arrest them because so many police would also be going to prison. And a decent number of judges for that matter.
Most people would have falling outs with at least some of their friends and family.
I lot of ppl would be really mad that they can’t cover up or misrepresent what they’re doing. “I’m fine,” and, “It’s ok,” would disappear from our vocabulary.
Relationships would shake. The tiny white lies we tell to protect feelings? Gone. People would finally say how they really feel: “I don’t love you anymore,” or “You annoy me every time you talk.” But also: “I’ve always loved you but never had the courage to say it.”
Society would struggle. A lot of social structure depends on tact, diplomacy, and pretending. Imagine politicians, bosses, or even parents speaking raw truth all the time. We’d expose corruption, but also break a lot of trust.
We’d feel lighter… and heavier. No more carrying guilt or secrets. But also no filters. We’d learn who truly supports us and who never did.
Progress might speed up. Honest feedback would push art, science, and self-improvement further. No flattery, no false praise. Just: “This doesn’t work. Here’s why.”
But here’s the catch: truth isn’t just about facts it’s also about timing, kindness, and wisdom. Raw honesty without empathy can hurt more than lies.
So if we stop lying, the world gets real fast. But it also gets hard. Only those ready to face their own reflection and everyone else’s would thrive.
The few people who still did, were able to take advantage of everyone else. So others would naturally start lying again to not be taken advantage of. That’s how it works.
If it were a “Liar, Liar” type of scenario, I think an interesting aspect would be how many people would be unable to say things they didn’t realize were lies when they said them in the past.
That completely depends on what we start doing instead. Do we not speak? Do we speak the literal truth? The emotional truth? The ground truth that we many times don’t really know ourselves? If so, do we get to know ourselves fully, so that we can confidently speak that truth? Do we gain the ability to talk it all out, and gain a deeper understanding of each other, or do we just gain the ability to say what’s in our mind, pretty or ugly, but not the ability to respond in a sensitive and emotionally intellignet way? Do we even know that this is suddenly how everyone is now acting, or do we thing it’s only us? There are too many variables, but I think exploring them all could make for a good scifi story.
Feelings would get absolutely shattered. And after a lot of disarray with people having to face a world where everyone tells the truth we would finally get to work on fixing real problems instead of tiptoeing around them.
When I was growing up, my parents (and other adults) lied to me so frequently that I didn’t learn the value of honesty. This was pointed out to me when I was in my late teens by a friend, who asked me why I always lied. So, I began working on telling the truth more often.
I am a big fan of the Wheel of Time book series by Robert Jordan. One of the plot devices is that a major power in the world is the Aes Sedai, a group of women who can use the mystical “One Power” to do magic. As part of becoming an Aes Sedai, women swear an Oath to “speak no word that is untrue.” This oath is magically binding, and they simply cannot willingly lie.
The thing is, they can mislead people into thinking something that is untrue by selectively saying things that are technically true but are not complete. We can always tell the truth all the time but allow the other person to get the wrong impression, to misunderstand, to believe we said something we didn’t.
I have the habit, now, of telling people truths that might be viewed as lies if seen from a different perspective. For example, I recently walked up to a few co-workers who were talking in a group and said, “Oh, so this is the place where the beautiful people hang out?” None of the co-workers was beautiful from a conventional sense of the word. But, since I believe everyone has an inner beauty, even people who are “classically not pretty” are beautiful in my eyes. I didn’t lie, and they didn’t take my statement as a simple truth, but everyone felt I’d complemented them, so we all win.
I’m sure a lot of people are thinking of politicians a d the like, but i don’t think as much would change as we might think. A lot of the time they’re not lying, they totally believe what they’re saying, they’re just stupid, brainwashed, or incompetent.
Honestly, I think the day to day thi is would be the biggest impact. That little white lie you tell your wife/husband/neighbor/colleagues, would be the cold truth. I imagine a lot of relationships wouldn’t last.
There was a great little animated movie about a kid who couldn’t lie and had to go to lying school to not insult people around him, after he informed his aunt that her cabbage rolls tasted like farts and shit.
Lying is only bad if you’re lying about something important. A lot of people are going to get very offended if people are forced to speak the truth at all times.
Ooh! I have a theory about this — lie detectors are obviously not reliable but I saw this crime show awhile back that used some sort of infrared camera and discovered that there are specific areas around the nose and eyes that heat up when a person is lying. I don’t remember all the details but it really made me think about the reality of that type of technology being perfected.
Honestly I think that being cunning in an effort to get money or resources is holding us back as a species. We could have an entirely different world if you could look someone in the face and immediately tell if they are trying to deceive.
Economic collapse as salesmen everywhere become unable to “close the deal.”
And just imagine a world where “nutritional supplement” providers must tell the truth, as well as all advertising for consumer products.
Of course, then comes the inevitable lawsuits over the definition of “lying.”
And then there are those politicians who would undoubtedly make lying not only legal, but “a moral imperative to benefit future generations” or some such nonsense.
They made a movie about this. It’s called The Invention of Lying. It’s fascinating.
There was no religion, “actors” were just historians reading from history books, people were kinda rude because they couldn’t tell polite lies. I recommend it.
I, myself, would love it. Honestly has just gotten me in trouble. I’m not one of those ‘I’m not a dick I’m just honest’ assholes. This would level the playing field
It would be really hard on children! “Mommy do you like my picture of the elephant? ” Pretty difficult to say I love it when it’s a gray scribble? First dates would be final dates most of the time!
If this includes stuff like just never telling people the thing (not lying, nor telling the truth) and white lies everyone’s lives would be over including mine
I think it would be wonderful! We would learn a lot, and maybe there would be less posturing and virtue signaling and more connection and understanding.
I would be given all the money and goods I want and people would do as I say…because I am the most deserving human being on the planet and I should be pampered…..
Murders would go through the roof, and probably nuclear war within a week.
Humans cannot cope without the most basic lies to get us through the day. Whether it’s telling your partner what you really think of their new top, or telling the UN General Assembly what you think about it, truth often is not a good thing.
To paraphrase Jumba in Lilo & Stitch: the Series: think of society as a shirt, and lies as the thread. If you keep pulling on the thread, the shirt falls to pieces.
My marriage actually ended because of radical honesty. Tried it for a month as an experiment and realized I’d been pretending to enjoy my husband’s cooking for 6 years. Turns out there’s a reason white lies exist.
Comments
Peace
You start
society would collapse within a week, half of our relationships run on white lies and polite dishonesty
The United States wouldn’t exist anymore.
Probably like in that movie where no one doesn’t know how to lie
A whole lot of people getting the crap beat out of them
Most politicians would be forced to resign and goverments would be in total chaos
There would be a period of societal adjustments, for sure
Various highlights
Yes we don’t know if God is real and the chaos of a universe that doesn’t care of our existence screams it out loud every moment.
yes we have profited over water knowing this will kill babies
Yes we knew the war was meaningless, we waged it anyway, because lobbyists made money.
Yes we push expensive drugs, dilute food standards and kill the environment, we won’t be here to reap anything except the rewards.
a terrible all out war
Society would not be able to function
Absolute fucking chaos.
Have you seen The Invention of Lying? Funny movie.
Most of our elected officials would go to prison, except there would be no one to arrest them because so many police would also be going to prison. And a decent number of judges for that matter.
Most people would have falling outs with at least some of their friends and family.
I lot of ppl would be really mad that they can’t cover up or misrepresent what they’re doing. “I’m fine,” and, “It’s ok,” would disappear from our vocabulary.
Relationships would shake. The tiny white lies we tell to protect feelings? Gone. People would finally say how they really feel: “I don’t love you anymore,” or “You annoy me every time you talk.” But also: “I’ve always loved you but never had the courage to say it.”
Society would struggle. A lot of social structure depends on tact, diplomacy, and pretending. Imagine politicians, bosses, or even parents speaking raw truth all the time. We’d expose corruption, but also break a lot of trust.
We’d feel lighter… and heavier. No more carrying guilt or secrets. But also no filters. We’d learn who truly supports us and who never did.
Progress might speed up. Honest feedback would push art, science, and self-improvement further. No flattery, no false praise. Just: “This doesn’t work. Here’s why.”
But here’s the catch: truth isn’t just about facts it’s also about timing, kindness, and wisdom. Raw honesty without empathy can hurt more than lies.
So if we stop lying, the world gets real fast. But it also gets hard. Only those ready to face their own reflection and everyone else’s would thrive.
Sounds good in theory, but it would be absolute anarchy, well for a time at least.
They made a movie about this
The invention of lying
I’d say about 10% less than I do, mostly at work.
People seem to forget, silence is an option.
I’d give us 72 hours
You could watch the documentary “The Invention of Lying” to get an idea.
We would be open to more acceptance and contentment for seeing the things the way they truly are.
Family get togethers such as Christmas etc would be much more fun.
The few people who still did, were able to take advantage of everyone else. So others would naturally start lying again to not be taken advantage of. That’s how it works.
If it were a “Liar, Liar” type of scenario, I think an interesting aspect would be how many people would be unable to say things they didn’t realize were lies when they said them in the past.
Invention of Lying. Great movie, this topic.
I’d say something like ,, I’m answering only when I’m bored and I’m mostly on Reddit when I’m looking at nsfw stuff”.
That completely depends on what we start doing instead. Do we not speak? Do we speak the literal truth? The emotional truth? The ground truth that we many times don’t really know ourselves? If so, do we get to know ourselves fully, so that we can confidently speak that truth? Do we gain the ability to talk it all out, and gain a deeper understanding of each other, or do we just gain the ability to say what’s in our mind, pretty or ugly, but not the ability to respond in a sensitive and emotionally intellignet way? Do we even know that this is suddenly how everyone is now acting, or do we thing it’s only us? There are too many variables, but I think exploring them all could make for a good scifi story.
Every interpersonal relationship in existence would fail almost immediately.
I would finally be able to stop worrying about passwords, MFA, and phishing attacks.
Feelings would get absolutely shattered. And after a lot of disarray with people having to face a world where everyone tells the truth we would finally get to work on fixing real problems instead of tiptoeing around them.
Anarchy
There would be no more politics.
Are you familiar with “The Liar’s Paradox”?
90% of peoples head would explode from being offended
Some people would take it to mean that they should blurt out insults to everyone they meet.
I’d be out of a job.
Some people can’t handle the truth
Should we talk about the sitting US prez?
the entire current world wide right wing populist movement would cease to exist immediately
People would talk a whole lot less
When I was growing up, my parents (and other adults) lied to me so frequently that I didn’t learn the value of honesty. This was pointed out to me when I was in my late teens by a friend, who asked me why I always lied. So, I began working on telling the truth more often.
I am a big fan of the Wheel of Time book series by Robert Jordan. One of the plot devices is that a major power in the world is the Aes Sedai, a group of women who can use the mystical “One Power” to do magic. As part of becoming an Aes Sedai, women swear an Oath to “speak no word that is untrue.” This oath is magically binding, and they simply cannot willingly lie.
The thing is, they can mislead people into thinking something that is untrue by selectively saying things that are technically true but are not complete. We can always tell the truth all the time but allow the other person to get the wrong impression, to misunderstand, to believe we said something we didn’t.
I have the habit, now, of telling people truths that might be viewed as lies if seen from a different perspective. For example, I recently walked up to a few co-workers who were talking in a group and said, “Oh, so this is the place where the beautiful people hang out?” None of the co-workers was beautiful from a conventional sense of the word. But, since I believe everyone has an inner beauty, even people who are “classically not pretty” are beautiful in my eyes. I didn’t lie, and they didn’t take my statement as a simple truth, but everyone felt I’d complemented them, so we all win.
Truth is often subjective.
Most of society would collapse, but all the autistics would be thriving.
I’m sure a lot of people are thinking of politicians a d the like, but i don’t think as much would change as we might think. A lot of the time they’re not lying, they totally believe what they’re saying, they’re just stupid, brainwashed, or incompetent.
Honestly, I think the day to day thi is would be the biggest impact. That little white lie you tell your wife/husband/neighbor/colleagues, would be the cold truth. I imagine a lot of relationships wouldn’t last.
“You can’t handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls.”
Try it for 24 hours in your personal life and see what changes in both your life and the people around you . . . . Communication is an art.
Family dinners would turn into UFC matches real quick.
There was a great little animated movie about a kid who couldn’t lie and had to go to lying school to not insult people around him, after he informed his aunt that her cabbage rolls tasted like farts and shit.
Lying is only bad if you’re lying about something important. A lot of people are going to get very offended if people are forced to speak the truth at all times.
We could get through the airport a lot quicker.
100% honestly it’s not the safest or most diplomatic way to deal with emotional beings.
total chaos, but at least there wouldn’t be any snowflakes left or karens
Politicians wouldn’t exist
Counterpoint: much less conversation, both from people not seeking input and others not offering it.
You’d know who you can trust
Ooh! I have a theory about this — lie detectors are obviously not reliable but I saw this crime show awhile back that used some sort of infrared camera and discovered that there are specific areas around the nose and eyes that heat up when a person is lying. I don’t remember all the details but it really made me think about the reality of that type of technology being perfected.
Honestly I think that being cunning in an effort to get money or resources is holding us back as a species. We could have an entirely different world if you could look someone in the face and immediately tell if they are trying to deceive.
The Whitehouse would be blessedly quiet.
It would mean the end of all television and movies intended for entertainment because acting is a form of lying.
Economic collapse as salesmen everywhere become unable to “close the deal.”
And just imagine a world where “nutritional supplement” providers must tell the truth, as well as all advertising for consumer products.
Of course, then comes the inevitable lawsuits over the definition of “lying.”
And then there are those politicians who would undoubtedly make lying not only legal, but “a moral imperative to benefit future generations” or some such nonsense.
They made a movie about this. It’s called The Invention of Lying. It’s fascinating.
There was no religion, “actors” were just historians reading from history books, people were kinda rude because they couldn’t tell polite lies. I recommend it.
Let’s take it a step further: what if we could read every thought and emotion telepathically between each other?
I, myself, would love it. Honestly has just gotten me in trouble. I’m not one of those ‘I’m not a dick I’m just honest’ assholes. This would level the playing field
That would have to be predicated by a unanimous acceptance of whatever Truth is.
The GOP party would out itself immediately as a oligarchical, pedophiles ?
Sir, this is Reddit. You’d get downvoted to hell and back.
Hip hip hooray no more religion.
Anarchy.
See “the invention of lying”
There would be a lot of really hurt feelings and awkwardness
”I don’t know”, ”I don’t care” and ”fuck off” answers to questions would skyrocket.
Most people cook up an answer on the spot out of politiness.
Religion would disappear very quickly.
It would be really hard on children! “Mommy do you like my picture of the elephant? ” Pretty difficult to say I love it when it’s a gray scribble? First dates would be final dates most of the time!
Probably a lot more murder
If this includes stuff like just never telling people the thing (not lying, nor telling the truth) and white lies everyone’s lives would be over including mine
I think it would be wonderful! We would learn a lot, and maybe there would be less posturing and virtue signaling and more connection and understanding.
I would be given all the money and goods I want and people would do as I say…because I am the most deserving human being on the planet and I should be pampered…..
If we stopped lying the world wouldn’t be able to function. Humans can’t handle the truth about much of anything.
I think we’d probably talk a lot less.
Murders would go through the roof, and probably nuclear war within a week.
Humans cannot cope without the most basic lies to get us through the day. Whether it’s telling your partner what you really think of their new top, or telling the UN General Assembly what you think about it, truth often is not a good thing.
To paraphrase Jumba in Lilo & Stitch: the Series: think of society as a shirt, and lies as the thread. If you keep pulling on the thread, the shirt falls to pieces.
My marriage actually ended because of radical honesty. Tried it for a month as an experiment and realized I’d been pretending to enjoy my husband’s cooking for 6 years. Turns out there’s a reason white lies exist.