From THE NEMESIS by S.J. Kincaid

“Reality has no power against a collective delusion,” he said. “Every system is essentially a vast, shared delusion that exists merely because everyone has agreed to believe in it. The whole reason there’s power in such a thing is because most people want to believe in the same thing all those about them seem to believe. And sometimes those delusions are blatant mistruths, but it doesn’t change matters. Some will be outright fooled by their own brains into genuinely embracing a collective mistruth. As long as they are fashionable, and they are in fashion by believing in, people will uphold any falsehood proudly, for doing so makes them belong.”