On this blog, I often address conspiracy theories as what corrupts and destroys the anti-liberal opposition. But it works on the other side too. For example, the topic of Russian influence is a typical conspiracy theory. Its adherents believe that whatever happens is supposed to be the result of the activity of some evil intelligence in the background (in this case, the intelligence of Vladimir Putin). Conspiracists reject natural causes. They are unable to accept that when the basic necessities of life become more expensive, people are dissatisfied without Vladimir Putin’s instigation. For conspiratics, there is no relationship between cause and effect. And the conspiracy theory itself must not be tested.
In our minds, conspiracy theorists are among the least educated classes. But even that is not the rule. In 2017, the in-house lawyer at the firm where I worked was genuinely convinced that I was being paid by Russia, otherwise I would have been thrilled by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Muslim migrants, including Islamic State fighters. He couldn’t get it straight in his head that anyone would be against Muslim migration for no reason at all.
However, whether educated or uneducated, it is always true that conspiracy theories are destructive. Those who fall for them lose.
And now liberals are getting more and more involved. Rolling Stone magazine is reporting that after the election, the word in American liberal circles is that Donald Trump had 15 million ballots stolen (how else to explain fewer votes than four years ago) and that Elon Musk hacked into the voting machines from his satellites and manipulated the outcome. The assassination of Trump was of course fake, because Trump was alleged to have had his left and right ear bandaged sometimes in various photographs. And so on. Millions of people are liking it on social media. Rolling Stone is talking about an explosion of liberal conspiracies.
More conspiracies equals more mistakes and even deeper destruction. So let them enjoy it.