Conspiracism exerts independent political force once it takes hold.

Evidence

Conspiracism is, fi rst and foremost, an explanation of politics. It purports to locate and identify the true loci of power and thereby illuminate previously hidden decision making. The conspirators, often referred to as a shadow or hidden government, operate a concealed political system behind the visible one, whose functionaries are either ciphers or puppets. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 1077 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

But while conspiracy theories are as old as the country itself, there is something new at work: people who peddle lies and half-truths have come to prominence, fame, and power as never before. If our conspiratorial world is a vast ocean, 2016 was, clearly, the year that Alex Jones—along with other groups, like anti-immigration extremists, anti-Muslim think tanks, and open neo-Nazis and white supremacists—were able to catch the wave of the Trump presidency and surf to the mainstream shore. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 30 (#expands, via linked claim)

Secret societies in general, and the conspiratory apparatus of revolutionary parties in particular, have always been characterized by absence of factions, suppression of dissident opinions, and absolute centralization of command. All these measures have the obvious utilitarian purpose of protecting the members against persecution and the society against treason; the total obedience asked of each member and the absolute power in the hands of the chief were only inevitable by-products of practical necessities. The trouble, however, is that conspirators have an understandable tendency to think that the most efficient methods in politics in general are those of conspiratory societies and that if one can apply them in broad daylight and support them with a whole nation’s instruments of violence, the possibilities for power accumulation become absolutely limitless. The conspiratory sector of a revolutionary party can, as long as the party itself is still intact, be likened to the role of the army within an intact political body: although its own rules of conduct differ radically from those of the civilian body, it serves, remains subject to, and is controlled by it. Just as the danger of a military dictatorship arises when the army no longer serves but wants to dominate the body politic, so the danger of totalitarianism arises when the conspiratory sector of a revolutionary party emancipates itself from the control of the party and aspires to leadership. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 874 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Delegitimation erodes democracy slowly rather than through crisis or coup — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 42; Only new conspiracism causes both delegitimation and disorientation simultaneously; The new conspiracism is uniquely and asymmetrically a right-wing phenomenon. (+8 more)

Related

• Conspiracism functions as a political explanation of hidden power (similarity 0.89)
• Political conspiracism acts independently once entrenched, not as an epiphenomenon (similarity 0.86)
• Conspiracy theories themselves are old but their peddlers’ political power is new (similarity 0.84)
• Conspiracism ultimately destroys its own partisan allies as well as its targets (similarity 0.82)
• New conspiracism obscures real power by delegitimating the institutions that render it visible (similarity 0.82)
• Conspiracism and populism are separable forces with independent effects (similarity 0.81)
• Political exclusion drives left-leaning people to conspiracy theorizing (similarity 0.81)
• Conspiracy belief inside power drives state actions, not just civilian politics (similarity 0.81)
• Totalitarianism emerges when a conspiracy sector escapes party control (similarity 0.81)
• New conspiracism ascribes organized power to plotters it never musters itself (similarity 0.80)
• Conspiracy theories are accessible ways to speak truth to power (similarity 0.80)
• Conspiracism in power simultaneously denigrates institutions and enlists them to validate claims. (similarity 0.80)
• New conspiracism offers no vision of what should replace delegitimized government (similarity 0.80)
• A new conspiracism form drops explanation and aims at disorientation. (similarity 0.80)
• Totalizing conspiracy theories claim all visible knowledge is deliberately false. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracism functions as a political explanation of hidden power #corroborates (0.92) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 1077
• Conspiracy theories themselves are old but their peddlers’ political power is new #expands (0.88) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 30
• Totalitarianism emerges when a conspiracy sector escapes party control #corroborates (0.78) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 874
• Conspiracy belief rates may be stable while their reach has exploded #exemplifies (0.78) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 227
• Political exclusion drives the mob toward conspiratorial readings of power #complicates (0.72) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 311