Honesty and Policy

A familiar saying that does not stand up well to scrutiny is 'Honesty is the best policy'. To begin with, all of the main terms involved are ambiguous. A 'policy' can be either a principle or a strategy, a big difference, given that the former is chosen for its own sake, while the latter is a means to another end. 'Best' varies analogously: as a qualifier of a principle, it means 'most admirable', while as a qualifier of a strategy, it describes what is most expedient, which is hardly equivalent to the former. Finally, 'honesty' has three main usages. First, it can refer to exchange activities, specifically to the objective accuracy of the descriptions of a party involved, e. g. 'an honest broker'. Second, it can refer to the sincerity of someone's feelings, e. g. 'he honestly loves her.' Finally, it can serve as a validation of the expression of hateful attitudes, e. g. 'To be honest, I do not like Blacks'. So, interpreting 'Honesty is the best policy' as the first of these, Honesty is plainly a strategy, since it is being compared to Dishonesty, not to another admirable principle, e. g. Courage. In the second case, it is neither a principle nor a strategy, since sincerity is spontaneous, and precedes any kind of reflective judgment. Finally, Honesty as an expression of hate has been an effective strategy in two spheres--as therapy in some schools of Psychology, and as a means to Political solidarity for some orientations. And, in both cases, admiration has been expressed, though that does not necessarily amount to admirability in some general sense. In sum, perhaps the best gauge of the soundness of 'Honesty is the policy' is the answer to the question, 'Would you trust someone who needs to be told that Honesty is the best policy?'