Conspiracy theories function mainly to identify enemies, not narrate coherent plots
Evidence
Hofstadter claimed that “the paranoid mentality is far more coherent than the real world, since it leaves no room for mistakes, failures, or ambiguities.” But that’s not entirely true: very often, in practice, conspiracy theories don’t seek to forge a single coherent narrative and are content to leave much ambiguity, creating chaotic narrative threads that don’t quite add up or make sense. The point is more often to identify an enemy than outline precisely what they’ve done. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 64
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to vault claims on out-group threat/enemy-construction driving prejudice (authoritarian personality, moral-panic mechanisms). — connects to: Conspiracy theories usually aim to name an enemy, not to build a coherent story. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 64; Conspiracy theories primarily assign blame rather than explain events — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 972; Disorienting targets, not explaining truth, is the conspiracists’ intended payoff — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 94 (+3 more)
- SEED: Essay angle: what conspiracy theory actually does is social sorting into friends/enemies, making factual debunking largely beside the point.
Broader Connections
- Conspiracy theories usually aim to name an enemy, not to build a coherent story.
#corroborates(0.98) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 64 - Conspiracy beliefs fundamentally function to delineate and locate evil
#corroborates(0.97) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 71 - Conspiracy theories primarily assign blame rather than explain events
#corroborates(0.95) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 972 - Disorienting targets, not explaining truth, is the conspiracists’ intended payoff
#corroborates(0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 94