# Would a totally honest society be a utopia, or a dystopia? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898 "2014-04-11T21:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898/1 "2014-04-11T21:54:57Z")
[This might be more GD material…no issue with moving it…] [Cracked said something that struct me as very curious today](http://www.cracked.com/article_21057_5-incredible-sensory-superpowers-you-didnt-know-you-have.html): > [@](#): > > You might find yourself wondering why we bother faking smiles at all. Why maintain this fiction that pleasant feelings can be faked? Why not just be up front and let our expressions reflect what we’re feeling inside? It’s because once you start asking questions like that, all of the rules of polite society will come crashing down. A sudden wave of total honesty would be the one disaster our civilization could not endure. Or would it utterly liberating? If this were one of **Skald** ’s silly polls, would you vote to do a Bruce Almighty crossed with Liar Liar and decree with your God-powers that nobody could lie anymore? What would happen if that were to come to pass? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898/2 "2014-04-11T22:24:21Z")
I don’t think a sudden change to this society will work out well. There will be a lot of anger. A lot won’t get done if people are afraid of the consequences of their honesty. But all in all it depends on what you mean by honesty. A fake smile isn’t exactly a great act of dishonesty. ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898/3 "2014-04-11T22:32:48Z")
Since we have no control over whether we are honest, I’d call this a dystopia. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898/4 "2014-04-11T22:41:42Z")
I think you have to first decide if you can be honest without saying everything that’s on your mind all the time. For example, if I walk into a room and hate the clothes you’re wearing, can I just keep that to myself, or do I have to tell you. Also, along with this, you’ll have to make a ruling on if lying by omission is considered not being honest. If you think your husband was out bowling last night, but I know where he _really_ was, do I have to tell you if I wasn’t directly asked (I wasn’t lying I just didn’t tell you)? On rethinking, I suppose those are one in the same, but the OP is going to have to make a ruling. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898/5 "2014-04-11T23:09:08Z")
[The Invention of Lying](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1058017/). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898/6 "2014-04-11T23:52:33Z")
“Divergent” includes a faction that never lies. I guess it works for them, although they all volunteered to live that way (at least in the mind of Veronica Roth). But questions like, “Do I look fat in these slacks” are traps. So people would also have to agree not to ask such questions. But all in all, I think it is a dystopia (as Roth clearly did). Incidentally, there is some evidence that smiling can make you feel happier. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898/7 "2014-04-12T00:07:26Z")
No, not compelled to divulge the truth unless directly coerced. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-totally-honest-society-be-a-utopia-or-a-dystopia/685898/8 "2014-04-12T00:23:28Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [Cracked said something that struct me as very curious today](http://www.cracked.com/article_21057_5-incredible-sensory-superpowers-you-didnt-know-you-have.html): I want to be part of the research team experimenting with #4. 🆒 To the OP, this question of “is honesty the best policy?” has often been used as a sitcom plot. Almost without exception, the moral of the story seems to be that 100% honesty is a Bad Thing, as it hurts people’s feelings. Think about it – if everyone answered honestly when their wife/girlfriend asks if a certain dress makes their ass look too fat, human reproduction would come to an end. I guess, in a fully enlightened society, advanced humans would be able to accept honest criticism without freaking out. But society’s currently nowhere near that level of enlightenment.