toxic conspiracies and apocalyptic aggression
I heard an interview with Chip Berlet earlier this week on NPR's Fresh Air about his report "Toxic to Democracy: Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, & Scapegoating." The Executive Summary notes that:
Drawing on his extensive scholarly as well as popular writing on the topic, author Chip Berlet shows that the development of modern conspiracism is rooted in bigotry and that the conspiracist analytical model itself encourages demonization and scapegoating of blameless persons and groups. In so doing, conspiracism also serves to distract society and its would-be agents of change away from ongoing, structural causes of social and economic injustices.
Berlet examines conspiracism on both the Left and Right, because they have structural similarities despite doctrinal differences:
The specific allegations embedded in destructive conspiracy theories change based on time and place, but the basic elements remain the same:
- Dualistic Division: The world is divided into a good "Us" and a bad "Them."
- Demonizing Rhetoric: Our opponents are evil and subversive...maybe subhuman.
- Targeting of Scapegoats: They are causing all our troubles--we are blameless.
- An Apocalyptic Timetable: Time is running out and we must act immediately to stave off a cataclysmic event. (p. 10)
Part of his conclusion ties the whole sordid mess (from the Illuminati and "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" forgery through the John Birchers, the LaRouchites, the "New World Order" paranoid Christianists and the 9/11 Truthers) together, with a nod to our present circumstances:
While conspiracists tell compelling stories, they frequently create dangerous conditions as these stories can draw from pre-existing stereotypes and prejudices. Cynical movement leaders then can hyperbolize false claims in a way that mobilizes overt forms of discrimination. People who believe conspiracist allegations sometimes act on those irrational beliefs, and this has concrete consequences in the real world. Angry allegations can quickly turn into aggression and violence targeting scapegoated groups. (p. 47)
Berlet's phrase "apocalyptic aggression" is becoming an all-too-familiar aspect of our lives, and his report helps to explain why. I recommend it highly.