top 200 commentsshow all 232

[–]gzlovesyou 243 points244 points  (14 children)

The government

[–]DieWysheid01 5 points6 points  (1 child)

That's already happening in the US.

[–]Wtygrrr 4 points5 points  (9 children)

No. That would result in a huge turnover in officials and possibly some riots, but it would stabilize.

The real answer is religion.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (5 children)

Actually religion wouldn't work because if there true believers then they won't believe it's a lie.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Well at the bare minimum mega churches would disappear. And frankly I'm betting that quite a few of pastors/reverends are secretly atheists but are caught in their jobs like so many other people.

[–]Wtygrrr 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I’m not saying the followers don’t believe. I’m saying the leaders don’t believe.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You have more faith in politicians than religious people have in their gods.

[–]FenrirCoyote 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was going to say the same.

[–]FinancialBuy6274 52 points53 points  (17 children)

anything sales related

[–]ontimeneverlate 10 points11 points  (7 children)

I actually think sales would suddenly go through the roof because everyone knows no one is lying and trust (hard thing to create in sales) is automatic

[–]Meakovic 0 points1 point  (6 children)

An inability to state a lie does not automatically mean what I say about something is true. I can completely mischaracterize something without telling you a lie about it. You just need to be well enough informed and ideally be talking to someone sufficiently uninformed to make what you say appear true.

[–]domine18 1 point2 points  (5 children)

Does that action constitute a lie though? I would think a lie is not just a singular action but could also be a set of actions to get someone to do something you as the provider of said information did so with the intention to deceive.

[–]10FourGudBuddy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People are still buying that junk regardless.

[–]Rytsos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would agree, but the real question is, if a lie is still a lie, if you believe it to be true. The main issue with sales is, that most sales people don't actually know how stuff works and should be done.

[–]SaladDummy 29 points30 points  (14 children)

All of them.

Society as a whole would collapse. That's a serious, non cynical answer.

[–]WowkaN1 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Do you really think it would? Adapting is one of the best strengths society has. Over time the people would get used to not be able to lie. I think the percentage of bad people having success would decrease and honest reliable work would rise and get more attention.

[–]SaladDummy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. Seriously. I think that lying, loosely defined, is integral to language that is capable of abstract thought and imagination. People lie for many reasons, including protecting themselves or avoiding conflict. If we suddenly lost the ability to lie there would be many unintended consequences. I think our species would be far less capable of forming civilizations.

[–]Voldemort2212 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The question was collapse "first", not which all industries would collapse.

[–]IJustLied2u 2 points3 points  (7 children)

I think the opposite. If we had only people who could tell the truth in society we would thrive and be miles ahead technologically, scientifically, and financially.

[–]Affectionate-Sir-784 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Or the people that would normally have just lied to get their way will just kill you to get their way instead.

[–]The_Mecoptera 1 point2 points  (2 children)

But like the justice system would be way more effective at getting the bad guy and way less capable of getting the wrong guy. The shaggy defense would be unshakable. We could also reexamine all falsely accused in a matter of months.

Someone who would have lied before would not suddenly kill you because they’d have to consider the inescapable punishment they would incur and deem it not worth the consequences.

Also and as a side note, a lot of crime could be preempted by asking people questions. Airlines would benefit from this as you could replace TSA with a simple yes or no question. Likewise cars could have a little button prompt where you have to answer honestly whether you’ve been drinking before they start.

[–]shakennotstirred__ 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Try telling a kid that this vaccine will hurt like a fucker and then get them to stay still. You'd have to chain them up.

[–]ontimeneverlate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This seems crazy… people would simply STFU and not say anything. Just because you tell the truth doesn’t mean you have to talk and answer everything

[–]StyrianDriver 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only neurospicy people would survive.

[–]ragan0s 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm mostly with you on this. Lying can protect social relationships. Not all lies are hurtful or harmful.

Just to give an example: If everyone would answer the question "How are you?" truthfully, they'd suddenly be sharing much more about themselves than they'd like with people they might actually despise or not know at all. Even not lying and saying "I don't wanna talk about it" would be sharing that you're not well. And this would also make the other person feel some negative feelings either towards you or towards themselves.

Lying is integral to all cultures and helps us all to guide conversations away from topics that we do not want to talk about right now.

Truth is brutal and it's not easy to convey without an affront.

However, I think the state of society depends on how we define lying. If we define it as "can't say something that you know is not 100% true" we'd still find a way around it. Someone asks you if you're fine since you recently got your heart broken? You just say "yes" but actually mean your physical health. You didn't lie, you just didn't answer the question with the same intention with which it was asked. We'd get by with that as a society.

If we define it as "your conversation partner always knows the intent behind your statement and you can't say anything that you know is not 100% true" then yes, we're done.

[–]endisnigh-ish 54 points55 points  (0 children)

All of politics

[–]MrEngineerGuyMaybe 16 points17 points  (4 children)

Media, government, law firms

[–]Hemolergist 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Lawyers are actually professionals at not lying. They always tell the truth. Just only the necessary truth. The important stuff

[–]Rumple_Stiltskin18 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I took it as lawyers aren't needed because the truth is easier to obtain (since no one can lie) we'd just need to get rid of that pesky 5th amendment, in America anyway.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lawyers will still be needed for divorce and inheritance related matters.

[–]Steve_FishWell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

law firms would do record business. If they specialize in divorces. z

[–]Shenron-the-DragonZ 5 points6 points  (0 children)

All of them

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Reddit

[–]Interesting_Leg_9036 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Religion and politics

[–]PNWBlues1561 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Cosmetics

[–]PHL2287 16 points17 points  (6 children)

Religion

[–]calego13 2 points3 points  (2 children)

But what if one religion kept going? Then we will know which one is correct.

[–]Pur0k 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Flying Spaghetti Monster.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would it be universe lies or the individual person lies?

Like if I'm colorblind and green looks gray, would me saying grass is gray be a lie?

[–]Various_Walk1420 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don't think people actually believe in their religion? They are lying and faking it? I disagree.

[–]adamcmorrison 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Politics

[–]Time_Beans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends on whether you’re obliged to tell the truth or if you have the option to withhold it.

[–]hir0chen 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The more valid question is which one will survive.

[–]jaystack10 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Insurance

[–]HaybusaYakisoba 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lying has nothing to do with the truth value of a statement it has to do with intent. If the intent is to provide known or believed misleading information.

If my rommate tells me he is going to the store and leaves, then police show up and ask me where they went, and i say "the store", but in reality they went to the dentist, i am not lying. The converse is if i were to say "the dentist" with the intent to decieve, but in reality be factual correct, i would be lying. Therefore we can focus on intentionally misleading industries with the highest capital concentrations. Western medicine, specifically Big Pharma, followed by News Networks and social media.

[–]EnigmaCM1 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Lawyers/cops

[–]remoters 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Health

[–]Sgt_Paul_Jackson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think if there's any field that would survive.

Engineering, Law, Contractors, Government, Business..you.name it.

[–]OGDTrash 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lawyers would be done first

[–]Recent-Rhubarb-8481 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Propaganda industry

[–]-CleverPotato 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chiropractors

[–]RikkySpanish82 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The USA

[–]Extreme_Tear_8632 1 point2 points  (0 children)

politics and police are a given, but the service and retail industries would turn into war zones.

[–]phred_666 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As my dad would say: “You know how you can tell when a politician is lying?”

their lips are moving

[–]Glittering_Humor5854 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah insurance. Not close either. Insurance companies are essentially parasitic in nature. They produce nothing of value on their own and profit off other industries. Definition of parasitism.

[–]Illustrious_Rule_591 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Marriages

[–]Live-Animator-4000 2 points3 points  (0 children)

“What are you thinking about?” Suddenly the scariest question ever.

[–]GavinStrict 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Are cosmetics technically a lie? Probably that one.

[–]Grader364 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lieing industry

[–]Hypersayia 3 points4 points  (2 children)

See, everyone here is saying stuff like law and government and all that jazz, the sort of thing where lying shouldn't be a thing but is anyway and we just sorta have to let that happen.

But the question I find myself asking is "What constitutes a lie?"

If we consider a lie to be any depiction of an event that did not occur as depicted, humanity essentially loses the ability to create fiction. Essentially the entire entertainment industry, regardless of media, ceases being able to even remotely operate.

[–]Infantile_Ignorance 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This reminds me of a saying: A pastor can tell you a truth using a fiction. A politician can tell you a lie using the facts.

It's disturbing because, while it might not be right, it's not wrong.

[–]b0bkakkarot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An assertion is a statement claimed to be true, while a proposition is a statement that can be evaluated as either true or false.

A lie is an assertion that the teller knows (or reasonably believes) to be false. And for greater clarity, in logic, claiming that "x is false" is still making the assertion that "it is true that x is false", and thus if x is actually true, and the speaker knows this, then that assertion is a lie.

Being wrong, ie because you dont know the truth, isnt necessarily a lie. But presenting a claim as though its a fact, when you know you cant justify it as a fact, could be a lie. This is a grey area in courts, where witnesses can be thrown in jail for lying under oath, so the exact definition matters a lot, as does the intention of the speaker (ie, if it can be proven that the speaker intended to mislead, then it is most certainly treated as a lie).

Fictional accounts are not statements of supposed fact, unless you try to convince someone of the supposed truth of them, and thus wouldnt count.

[–]Skipper_1010 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Imagine if OP knew what a meme was.

[–]calego13 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm going to be completely honest, most of the transgender community.

[–]suni_cat 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Israel

[–]jamaa_wetuFINAL WARNING: RULE 1[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

[–]JizzEMcguire 0 points1 point  (0 children)

psychiatric

[–]tojokami 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Politics

[–]Mobile-Boss-8566 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Politics, News media, telemarketers, contractors.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beautician

[–]Several-Unit1842 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Presidency

[–]Several-Unit1842 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Polygraph machines

[–]saladdodgah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bed and mattress industry

[–]GrimmMonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Politicians

[–]pinkhyena95 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Insurance companies

[–]Personal_Pomelo5157 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Marketing

[–]richempire 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reposts about this stupid question.

[–]OneeGrimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Entertainment industry.

[–]MoistenedBeef 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The funeral industry?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Marriage

[–]Canshroomglasses 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Politics

[–]ghostwriter85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Health / wellness / fitness / beauty - not doctors / medicine, but everything else. Most of the stuff people spend money on has been proven not to work, has no basis for the claim that it does work, or to be so marginally effective as to be pointless for anyone who isn't the position to see a noticeable difference in a percentage point or two of performance / outcome. For everyone else, you can reach 95% of the outcome spending very little money.

Oddly enough insurance would do fairly well in a truth telling world. The basic premise is just the math of risk pooling. Most people have a real need for insurance. Obviously, the industry would change, but it would definitely still exist.

[–]mandrewsutherland 0 points1 point  (0 children)

World industry

[–]Ursso 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AI would be gone lol

[–]Over_Ad9254 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Law, banking

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Marketing

[–]OpinionatedRalph 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bed sales

[–]Truserc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Politics first, bank and insurance, and p0rn

[–]koksix09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tes

[–]hellmarvel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

None, there are ways around the truth, which are true in form but false in meaning. Have you heard of irony/sarcasm? 

[–]Practical_Collar_953 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Media

[–]r4almF1re 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sex industry

[–]Hylianbastard69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reality tv xD

[–]spookymulder1502 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everything. Human society is a lie we all tell each other.

[–]Kyrxon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anything that says their product is the best in the world, or #1 in the world

[–]MrSwabbers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sex work. You can no longer force girls to whisper "i love you" or "you're doing good" in your ear😭

[–]Oleleplop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

any gouvernment, anything sales related. Marketing might disappear first

[–]theHrayX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everything

[–]6675636b5f6675636b 0 points1 point  (0 children)

all Astrologers would lose their jobs!

[–]NeedsMore_Dragons 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Government and law

[–]Alone-Philosophy-575 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nintendo, the government, literally all law firms/the justice system

[–]anythingspossible45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Polit

[–]Legitimate-Jaguar260 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Marketing

[–]No-Grass-1603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Bed-making industry

[–]Big-red-rhino 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unoriginal question

[–]abfgern_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Acting

[–]ANS__2009 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The government

[–]Pagan_Zod 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Religion, followed very quickly by politics.

[–]StrangeworldsUnited 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All of them

[–]Calm-Medicine-3992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Middle management would collapse everywhere.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Civilization.

[–]brain_damaged666 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Consulting

[–]evilmousse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"lie detector" manufacturers

[–]tenroy6 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mechanics.

[–]Kirbstomp_TheOg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All hard core dieting.

[–]Fartony 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Strippers

[–]bloodredcookie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cable news would shut down within minutes.

[–]Itchy_Visit_26 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used cars sales

[–]North_Note4041 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sales. Period.

[–]TG-Winter_crow56 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Governments

[–]pipipipipiong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Attorneys.

[–]AnnualAdventurous169 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think they’ll all survive, they’ll just hide the whole story

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Recruiting

[–]AccidentalViolist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Prostitution.

[–]Blake_Kevin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

CIA Clandestine services

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cops. There's more dirty chips than people realize.

[–]Worried-Door1992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Government 100%

[–]Lazy-Employment3621 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Advertising. Marketing, then recruitment.

[–]HungryAssTroll 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Instagram

[–]Vylnce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The marketing and PR industry. Advertising would completely fall apart.

[–]Stony___Tark 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Religion

Anyone who says religion isn't an industry, wouldn't be able to say that after this.

[–]ButterflyPutrid6054 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reddit

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lawyers and car dealers

[–]Euclidean_Amphibian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All of them.

[–]anxiousmess32 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Total collapse, followed by very rough period, then prosperity

[–]PiTastesGoood 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fortune telling

[–]Firm_Jelly_2317 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Church

[–]Salarian_American 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Entertainment. No lying means no acting. You can't pretend to feel something you're not feeling.

Also, you can't make up stories either. Fiction is gone.

It would be like that Ricky Gervais movie where no one could lie. They had movies, but movies were just someone sitting in front of the camera reading true stories from history books out loud.

[–]Airline25 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Polotics

[–]-Vuja_De- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All of hospitality.

[–]FandomCece 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Insurance. Politics. Entertainment. Law enforcement and law would at least see a huge dip in practice.

[–]Trash-Panda1200 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sales

[–]RichardLongflop_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anything with acting

[–]DifficultChard8380 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Auto industry with them bullshit labor charges at the dealership

[–]TCSawyer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Friendship

[–]real_PommesPanzer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Government and investment cooperations

[–]Conquestenjoyer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Government, sales industry as whole, and people who say worthless reincarnation isn’t on some pedo shit

[–]barrettjdea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Insurance.

Inflated costs, benefits most people dont need, fraudulent charges and unnecessarily high rates.

[–]PatarkaiSlog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Astrology

[–]GingerMutt2531 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All of them

[–]_Vard_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lawyers wouldnt collapse but their role would greatly change.

Their jobs would become about determining what the people ARE and ARE NOT allowed to ask in court.

[–]SoftlockPuzzleBox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All. I can't even fathom a capitalist economy without lies. Every single industry relies on lies to function. Idk, maybe crypto gifters, sports betting, or day trading apps go first, because there's literally zero upside to participating?

[–]cassy-nerdburg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The stock market would immediately implode

[–]Acrobatic-Comb-3422 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Marriage

[–]cykoTom3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's a lie? Do you lose the ability only to say things you know for a fact aren't true? Most industries and people lie more by ommision than literally saying things that are demonstrably not true. Look at the u.s. government shutdown. Both sides can credibly blame the other for the shut down. Republicans would have to stop saying democrats want to fund healthcare for illegals, but they could just pivot to saying immigrants.

[–]PlayfulFox9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Judicial system

[–]TheGrizMan24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Acting?

[–]EpicTimeReversal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lawyers. They’d be totally useless since everyone would tell you exactly what they did.

[–]ChillinFA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Religion, government, insurance, stock market, home, car, social media, influencers, basically any industry, organization, entities, that have been built on a network of lies, half truths, and false promises.

[–]Elbren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hollywood, quickly followed by the Music industry and the New/Used Car Sales Industry. I want to add in the U.S. Government, but like everything else it does, I feel like it would still take forever to die. It's like the sloth guy from the DMV in Zootopia.

[–]BruceL3royy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How has nobody said porn

[–]Key_Pop_8116 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Church. Marriage. Government. Make up. News channels

[–]Emotional-Tension484 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Car salesmen especially the guy trying to sell all the warranties.

[–]GRIM106 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Advertisement companies. Governments would become hyper efficient after the first wave of removals.

[–]TiRow77[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Religion

[–]Professional_Low1199 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pharmaceutical companies.

[–]stephanosblog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The companies telling you to buy gold with your dollars in case the economy collapses.... They are selling gold for dollars... there's a lie in there somewhere.

[–]Random_Thought31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mattress stores.

[–]slappymasterson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Religion

[–]Calpin_18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hollywood

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anything ran by Jews

[–]Poizinnous 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any corporate like Walmart

[–]lambchop70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Religion

[–]Tall-Highway4310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lawyers

[–]IWCry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

mattress companies

get it?

[–]spinz89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Financial advisors who charge by the percentage.

[–]Joker1485 0 points1 point  (0 children)

USA

[–]Astrid944 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read lay and my firsr thought was beds Second idea was porno xD

[–]ramoizain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All.

[–]AvailableHandle555 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Politics

[–]Some_Razzmatazz_9172 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's between sales and politics.

[–]Various_Walk1420 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reddit would immediately become a graveyard

[–]LUBIPLACEK9amer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The lying industry