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I gave on example, religion is definitely mis-information designed to control people.

A better example may be something like voting on whether to join a single currency. Lets say the correct answer is 'Yes' (I'm not sure after a BA Finance). Maybe 200 people in the UK actually understand the issue at hand and which decision best increase UK EV, but the general public will vote on it, and they will vote "no" because they are on average patriotic racists with no clue about money.

Either we get them all to do PHDs in finance, or we tell them they need to vote in x direction or they will all lose their jobs and aliens will invade and commence wide-spread anal probing.

I would have no problem propogating that misinformation if it would be for their own good and they will be financially better off with no other downsides.

EDIT: I love the idea of treating people as intelligent "free thinking autonomous agents". But they ARE too stupid. Thats why the UK has a huge problem with debt on credit and store cards. Ideally there would be little tax, no benefits, and everyone would make independent decisions about their destiny and take responsibility for their actions. But it doesn't work.

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This is an issue I have tendency to rant about, so will try not to [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I expressed how I feel about a lot of this on the stupid laws thread that just died.

Yes, a lot of people are stupid, and yes, those people will make poor decisions based on that stupidity. But as far as personal decisions go, they will pay the price for that stupidity. It gets a bit more complex on social issues where stupid people are voting, but that's a price I'm more than happy to pay for living in society that treats it's citizens as adults.

It's not the role of government to be our parent, and that's what presenting misinformation on the grounds that people don't have the brainpower to process the truth accurately is doing. I want my government, not to mention everyone in my private life, to be honest with me so that I'm free to make my own mind up. That's IMO possibly the most fundamental way in which liberty presents itself.

And even setting aside the principles involved, that kind of disinformation has legs and all kinds of undesirable consequences subsequently - where do you think the xenophobic and isolationist motivations that have people voting that way on the single currency issue come from in the first place?