I think it was in Plato’s Gorgias paper that he mentioned how rhetoric would give way to truth by being the most obvious choice.  Since truth is easiest to argue then it will stand out strong amidst a sea of arguments.  This makes sense, obviously if something is true then it will stand out because it’s “provable.”  We use this concept in many things.  Our known sciences and textbooks follow a controlled method of this.  Each “truth” is pressed through a series of experiments and trials and the one that’s proven, or at least not disproven, gets published and treated as accurate.

A more open method of this is a community based project.  Any open forum for discussion or repository of knowledge that can be accessed by anyone.  Everyone argues and the strongest argument should end up being the truth.  It’s sort of like Adam Smith’s theory of the “Invisible Hand.”  Smith’s viewpoint was that the market was self driven.  An increase in demand will drive up the supply which will then push the increase back down.  Prices and economic trends flow naturally as they try to attain a balance.  If everyone keeps buying and selling the market will react to the economic changes and, at the same time, force itself towards a medium.  That doesn’t mean a recession or depression is impossible since that’s one way to reach an even level.  Likewise, an open forum can give misinformation along with accurate facts since it’s based on who has the best argument.

The problem with all of these things is solely the responsibility of each person.  If one reads and article from any source, peer reviewed or otherwise, that person should cross check the data with other sources and draw conclusions based on the data.  While one can still get bad information with multiple sources it’s less likely.  For the case of economic means; buy, sell, hoard, and trade based on information and means gathered from multiple sources.  It’s not full proof but you maximize your chances of being correct with every bit of information you compare.

Image from Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek: The Next Generation

Consulted

Joyce, Helen. “Adam Smith and the invisible hand.” +Plus. N.p., 1 Mar. 2001. Web. 12 Nov. 2010.