Hi Everyone,
I recently wrote a post about how socialism could lead to fascism. The post focused on how socialist ideas are being twisted to support a longer-term fascist agenda. In today’s post, I want to explore the movement and/or strategic placement of conspiracy theories to the right-wing of politics. People are labelled as conspiracy theorists, if they are believed, correctly or incorrectly, to support and/or propagate conspiracy theories. What is a conspiracy theory? Below are the definitions of conspiracy theory from four well-known dictionaries.
Conspiracy theory is a theory that rejects the standard explanation for an event and instead credits a covert group or organization with carrying out a secret plot (dictionary.com).
Conspiracy theory is a belief that an event or situation is the result of a secret plan made by powerful people (Cambridge).
Conspiracy theory is a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators (Merriam-Webster).
Conspiracy theory is the belief that a secret but powerful organization is responsible for an event (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary).
The definitions from all four dictionaries are consistent. The definitions revolve around secret plots organised by powerful people. There is no reference to political beliefs. We should be able to assume that conspiracy theorists do not need to be confined to any political background. We should be able to argue that conspiracy theorists would be inclined to oppose any leader, party or groups holding positions of power. These positions of power could relate to various areas such as Government, religion, private enterprise, or the military. However, it appears right-wing ideology has become more appealing to many conspiracy theorists.
Donald Trump opens the door to conspiracy theorists
The attractiveness of the right of politics appeared to grow when Donald Trump became the Republican Nominee for the 2016 Presidential Election. Conspiracy theory supporting alternative media such as Breitbart News Network and InfoWars, both of which have millions of viewers, strongly supported Donald Trump throughout his presidential campaign. Donald Trump was becoming known as the anti-establishment presidential candidate. Donald Trump’s appeal to conspiracy theorists would have increased further after WikiLeaks published emails from Hilary Clinton’s campaign chairman, which revealed embarrassing and potentially illegal activity (Vox 2016). This would have also validated support for conspiracy theories in general.
Over the years, Donald Trump has openly supported many conspiracy theories. Some of these theories include:
- Claims that former President Barack Obama was not born in the USA.
- Syrian refugees posing as ISIS terrorists.
- Childhood vaccines causing Autism.
- Wives of 9/11 hijackers fled to Saudi Arabia several days before attack.
- Climate change is a hoax.
- Accused Barack Obama of tapping Trump Towers phones.
- Noise from windmills causes cancer.
- Claims the Clintons killed Jeffrey Epstein
Source: Business Insider
Are conspiracy theories good or bad?
This depends on whether these conspiracy theories can be backed by evidence and/or supported by logic. If a conspiracy theory can be proven true, then it is good that the activities of powerful people have been revealed. However, conspiracy theories are often very difficult to prove definitively. This is because powerful people have the means to hide evidence and keep it hidden. They have the resources to debunk, sometimes artificially, claims made against them. This can be done with media or through their own experts.
Conspiracy theories can also be complete nonsense. I believe most conspiracy theories are worth at least some form of investigating. False conspiracy theories can often be dismissed quite easily. For example, the flat earth theory. For the flat earth theory to be true, physics would need to be almost completely redefined. The flat earth map can be disproven using flight times between Australia and South America. False conspiracy theories can be dangerous for several reasons. They can be used to discredit genuine conspiracy theories. They can be used to manipulate people. Some conspiracy theories can be dangerous to our physical or mental health if they encourage reckless behaviour.
Right-wing conspiracy theory plays into the two party system
I am very critical of the two party political system. I discuss my criticism in detail in my posts The Two-Party Political System – The dictatorship we didn’t know we had and Raise your hand if you live in a Democracy. Pushing conspiracy theorists towards the right-wing party/leader serves the two party system very well. Before this push, conspiracy theorists were more actively questioning both sides of the political debate. This created a valuable third party perspective. This was also a major threat to the established two party political system. This threat became larger as the supporters of conspiracy theories grew. The arrival of Donald Trump may have been the solution to this problem. Large groups of conspiracy theorists now had a representative who acknowledges several of their beliefs.
Donald Trump may claim to support many conspiracy theories and depicts a picture of being anti-establishment but his actions have not largely differed from typical establishment leaders. See examples below:
- He has questioned the official 9/11 story but has not reinvestigated it.
- He has strongly criticised wars in the Middle East but he has continued them.
- He claimed he would have Hillary Clinton prosecuted for her crimes but he did not even commence any investigations against her.
- He claimed he would reduce the size of Government but has spent more than his predecessor in just one term (reason.com).
- He openly supports both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
- He claimed vaccines could be dangerous. However, he is trying to rush a Covid-19 vaccine, which would have undergone less testing than the vaccines he claimed were dangerous (CNN).
- He has not helped free Julian Assange (WikiLeaks founder) despite praising his work.
Are conspiracy theories being used as a path to Fascism, Totalitarianism, or any other form of Authoritarianism?
Just like ‘socialism’, conspiracy theories can be used to manipulate people. Conspiracy theories can be used as a fearmongering tool. When people are afraid they are less likely to follow logical reasoning. Therefore, they could do things or support activities that they would not under normal circumstances. This could lead to discrimination, conflict, violence, or even the suppression of others. The propagators of the conspiracy theories might be able to justify taking extreme actions against those that are targeted by the conspiracy theories. This could potentially give the propagators more power. This is particularly dangerous if the propagators already have significant power. Ironically, the people fighting against covert operations of 'the elite' could be aiding the direct implementation of fascism to prevent the indirect implementation of fascism.
Alternative Media (plenty of options on Hive)
There are many good alternative media services such as We are Change / @lukewearechange, Press for Truth / @pressfortruth, RT / @rt-international, Global Research, David Icke, and The Crowhouse / @maxigan. Many of these alternative media have accounts on Hive. These alternative media are good, as they present a side often not focused or even shown in mainstream media. These alternative media often venture into conspiracy theories but normally present at least some evidence to support them. I would still recommend, as often as possible, to follow up anything seen on these media with your own research. It is still possible false conspiracy theories can be muddled in.
Conclusion
The rich and powerful often crave greater wealth and power. To openly attempt to obtain more wealth and power will be met with resistance. Therefore, the quest for wealth and power are done in the guise of something more benevolent and virtuous. The current Covid-19 crisis is a perfect example of the Government taking actions to control the people in the guise of protecting public health. In my post Power, Money and Me Me Me, I discuss how our system facilitates those who covet power to obtain power. Many informed conspiracy theorists are able to see through the facade used by those in power to obtain more power. However, many people that believe the legitimate conspiracy theories are susceptible to believing false conspiracy theories as well as people who propagate both legitimate and false conspiracy theories.
Right-wing leaders support particular conspiracy theories to gain the trust of those that have lost trust in the current system to pull them back into the current system. I believe this approach began in the USA and it has spread to other western countries such as Australia and the UK. I recommend, initially, taking any conspiracy theory seriously. I would then suggest researching the possible legitimacy of the theory as well as the source of this theory. If the conspiracy theory is false, it should not be hard to find evidence to disprove it. If it is true, you should be able to find some evidence supporting it but it is unlikely to be conclusive, as you are unlikely to get a full picture of what is happening, as those with power would be able to hide it.
The two party political system dominates much of the western world. One party represents the left-wing and the other the right-wing. Left-wing and right-wing ideology are presented as opposites. This is done to create the illusion that we need only two options. In reality, the political spectrum is far broader, I explain this in my post Exploring the Political Spectrum (Octagon Model). A simple two party system is also vulnerable to external control. This can be described as controlled opposition. I discuss this in my video Controlled Opposition Explained as a Game Theory Strategy. It is most likely that both left-wing and right-wing political parties have the same end goal but approach it differently and market it differently to their respective bases. Hence, giving elections very little meaning in a two party political system.
More posts
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