Facts enable sovereignty by allowing people to decide for themselves, without relying on authorities. Facts are needed both for court rulings and for elections. Facts enable self-defense against the wealthy and the powerful. Since they can be known in common, they can enable an individual to seek allies and, along with them, justice. If it is agreed that facts are no different from opinions, the free person has no ground on which to make a stand. If facts do not count, what James Madison called “clamor and combinations” will always win, which means that tyrants and oligarchs will always win.
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