Conspiracy theories give true believers the illusion of power by offering a “secret” and, to believers, a convincing account of how the world works; but they simultaneously disempower the believers because they buy into a narrative in which the Powers are so smart, so well-organized and so far-sighted that nothing short of an apocalyptic meltdown will ever bring them down. Belief in conspiracy theories is less a sign of organizing for social change than it is a psychological mechanism that helps people come to grips with their lack of control over the forces shaping their lives.
“America’s Weapons of World Domination — Sex and Kim Kardashian,” by Walter Russell Meade, June 14, 2012
More
- List of conspiracy theories – Wikipedia
- “The Best Conspiracy Theories (Lizard-People Are Running the World!), by Lucas Graves, October 23, 2007
- Conspiracy Theories – xkcd
- “History’s greatest conspiracy theories,” The Telegraph
- Snopes
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