Conspiracy and millennialism function complementarily by dividing labor over the problem of evil

Evidence

As Stephen O’Leary notes, “The discourses of conspiracy and apocalypse … are linked by a common function: each develops symbolic resources that enable societies to address and defi ne the problem of evil.” Conspiracy theories locate and describe evil, while millennialism explains the mechanism for its ultimate defeat. Hence the two can exist in a symbiotic relationship, in which conspiracism predisposes believers to be millennialists and vice versa, though each can exist independently. They are thus best viewed as mutually reinforcing. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 107

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clearly states the functional division of labor between conspiracy theorizing (locates evil) and millennialism (explains its defeat).
• XREF: connects to: Millennialists projected the Antichrist’s apparatus onto the League of Nations in the 1920s — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 251; Conspiracism and millennialism relate but not causally or simply — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 103; Tradition-bound millennialisms restrict conspiracy ideas to those their own canon allows — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 109 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracy beliefs fundamentally function to delineate and locate evil #expands (0.82) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 71
• Tradition-bound millennialisms restrict conspiracy ideas to those their own canon allows #qualifies (0.78) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 109
• Conspiracy theorists can endorse the very evil they oppose as a grim necessity #expands (0.75) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 332