Those of you who know me know that I absolutely love conspiracy theories.
A good conspiracy theory is a highly rationalized work of art. It is an impressively refined, carefully constructed form of reasoning that requires a great deal of careful thought and specialized knowledge--in the same way that liquor is a highly refined, carefully constructed form of sugar.
It is, quite possibly, the highest form of madness man has ever achieved.
Having said that, I honestly believe that conspiracism based on something very positive in the human mind:
Inference.
Scott McCloud would call it "closure," but I call it inference. It's that truly remarkable human ability to reason from incomplete information. At its most functional, it gives us mathematics, scientific theories, engineering, diplomacy, medicine, and countless other wonderful things.
This same exact capacity also leads us to paranoia, irrational anger and resentment, and mind-bogglingly stupid ideas. Which are things that all human beings (with the exception of your humble correspondent, of course) fall prey to.
At its very worst, the negative side of our ability of inference leads to breathtaking destruction and even murder. Stalin's belief that capitalists and Trotskyists were responsible for "sabotaging" the Soviet economy led him to murder about 20 million people during his political career, and to savagely repress tens of millions more. Paranoid fears of a worldwide Zionist conspiracy, first promulgated by the Russian secret police in the late 19th century, led directly to the Holocaust and quite a few problems that the Jews face around the world to this day.
Conspiracy theories are often developed over time by some very clever people. If you're thinking of the demented character Mel Gibson played in that movie (Conspiracy Theory), you're missing a major part of the story. Some conspiracy theorists are moody loners, but many fit comfortably into the everyday world. They may work as teachers, lawyers, or in other respected professions.
Good conspiracy theorists are smart. They tend to amass collections of facts and assertions that build on their pet theories. Often, one theorist will take ideas and assertions made by another theorist, and build on them. Some breathtakingly elaborate edifices are often built this way. They can even span generations: the Zionist Conspiracy theory is now a bit over 100 years old, and still going strong.
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Article comments
1 - mike
An even better book is Richard Hofstader's "The Paranoid Style in American Politics."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0674654617/qid=1052454449/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-5030864-2811140?v=glance&s=books
2 - Dean Esmay
Everything I've read about Hofstader's book indicates that, while good, it suffers from the fatal flaw of blaming all paranoia and conspiracy-minded thinking on the radical right, and lets radical left-wing conspirators almost completely off the hook.
Pipes' book offers a riveting analysis of both far-left and far-right conspiracy groups. Furthermore, it's far more up to date.
3 - Temple Stark
Isn't this better under Etc. or Politics. Is there such a category? It is well written but seems to have nothing to do with books except one reference at the end. Ah well. I'm just reacquainting myself with this site.
4 - mike
No, Hofstader, first of all, was writing in the immediate aftermath of the McCarthy era, when right wing conspiracy thinking was riding high, so that is what he focused on.
But he also cited the Populists, a left wing movement of the 1880s and 90s, for its conspiracy thinking. Had he lived longer than he did, he very possibly would have become a neoconservative, since he ran with the Commentary crowd in its more liberal days.
The real problem with Hofstader is that the historical precedents he cited were not as conspiracy minded as he thought.
Scholarship has discounted his interpretation of these movements; but his charecterizations of the "paranoid style" are as relevant as ever. As a leftist (with libertarian tendencies) who's always fighting with left conspiracy thinkers--excuse me, "thinkers," I think he was spot on, as the British say.
You can actually retrieve the original essay the book was based on by Googling it; it's well worth reading.
5 - justice for horsey love
6 months since 4 year old alexa renee middelaer of delta was struck down while feeding horses at the side of the road by a drunk woman driver and delta police are still stalling at laying charges.
i think stephen harper called this snap election because this woman driver is someone so linked to the conservatives that if her identity was known it would blow them out of the water and they are running out of stalling tactics.