Contemporary mistrust of government has multiple structural causes beyond conspiracism.

Evidence

But many forces contribute to mistrust of government today, among them the corrupt influence of “dark money” in elections, the sense that representatives are not serving constituents’ needs or the national interest, and sheer incompetence in getting the public business done so that governing barely rises to the level of muddling through. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 84

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: whether dark money, unresponsiveness, and incompetence each do measurable independent work on trust, and how conspiracism rides on them.
• XREF: connects to: Political conspiracism acts independently once entrenched, not as an epiphenomenon — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 369; Conspiracism and radical conservatism align over a shared hostility to the administrative state — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 222; Security-based risk politics produces reactionary anticipatory politics mistrustful of experts. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living With…, 317 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Political conspiracism acts independently once entrenched, not as an epiphenomenon #complicates (0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 369
• Conspiracism and radical conservatism align over a shared hostility to the administrative state #expands (0.78) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 222
• Threat and insecurity from structural conditions drive heightened conspiracy thinking #corroborates (0.75) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 56
• Past government abuse justifies wary distrust of any officials #qualifies (0.72)
• Security-based risk politics produces reactionary anticipatory politics mistrustful of experts. #corroborates (0.70) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 317