And people rarely restrict themselves to believing a single conspiracy theory; they usually come in clusters. Soon enough, they become the prism through which budding conspiracists see the world.
Of course, there is an allure to conspiracy theories; they provide their followers with a sense of control, certainty and the belief that they are holders of privileged knowledge. At the same time, studies show that a belief in conspiracy theories correlates to impoverished interpersonal functioning, meaning paranoia, narcissism, disagreeableness, insecure attachments and Machiavellianism. Where have we seen that before?
People who believe in conspiracy theories are more likely to endorse violence as a way to express disagreement with the government. Once they are deep in, conspiracy theorists live in a distorted reality, a world of shadows, a hall of mirrors.
But the damage hardly stops there. Conspiracy theories, when they gain a wide enough currency, are destructive to democracy. They cloud and eventually warp peoples thinking to the point that even the most basic and obvious steps we need to take to slow the spread of a lethal pandemic, like wearing a mask, are ridiculed.
Crowds at Mr. Trumps rallies chant for the firing of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, with a White House spokesman, incredibly, dismissing Dr. Fauci as exactly what the American people have come to expect from the Swamp.
The president has also accused doctors around the country of inflating the number of Covid-19 cases, in unforgettable terms: Our doctors get more money if somebody dies from Covid. You know that, right? he told a rally in Michigan on Friday. I mean our doctors are very smart people. So what they do is they say Im sorry but everybody dies of Covid.
Conspiracists are also unlikely to compromise with those they believe are involved in secret plots to destroy them and the nation. Dialogue, debate and persuasion on these terms are nearly impossible, nor are they desirable, since those who embrace conspiracies live in a different epistemological universe from those who do not. No amount of evidence can convince them they are wrong; indeed, the more evidence that is amassed to refute their views, the more convinced they become that the conspiracy theory is true.read more
Trump Lives in a Hall of Mirrors and He’s Got Plenty of Company
