Human Nature

[Ivan Denisovich]

Humans possess a very wide range of possible behaviors in their toolbox, and they call up different responses depending on the different situations they face.

Many of those behaviors were developed during their evolutionary history, and may no longer be applicable to most modern situations.

Nevertheless, demagogues in positions of authority who routinely lie to people can push some of them into behaviors that under ordinary situations they would reject.

Such demagogues typically want more and more power due to their own specific mental health issues, so they don't mind lying to get it.

This is why democracies can be so fragile, and why factual honesty is so important to maintaining them.

So I do not inhabit a worldview in which everything, no matter what, can be blamed on politicians.  As Thump said above, voters are also to blame for their own naivety and dishonesty.

Politicians who aren't demagogues (that is politicians who don't champion cause of common men) lie too. It's not a fault specific to type of politicians that you don't like. Also lies aren't needed to push people to do things they wouldn't otherwise. Truth suffices too.

Nice armchair psychology - demagogues (yes, yes I get that nowadays this word is nothing more than slur but come on, it has other meaning too) want more power cause they're crazy. Politicians that you approve off meanwhile do not want more power, nor they lie to get it I suppose.

And democracy is fragile because of those dastardly demagogues, certainly not because politicians are fellating big business, don't give a shit about working class or live in ivory towers without smidge of knowledge about real people lives and their struggles. Of course truth is important but perhaps fragility of democracy could have far more causes or things like wealth inequality don't matter before the might of villainous demagogues?

You seem to inhabit worldview where bad politicians (or rather those which you deem bad) lie because of their mental issues to get more power and thus make democracy fragile. Calling it simplistic and one sided would be a compliment.