New conspiracism obscures real power by delegitimating the institutions that render it visible

Evidence

The new conspiracism, with its innuendo and bare assertion, does not even try to make sense of power. And by delegitimating democratic institutions, the new conspiricism actually obscures power. When they work well, democratic institutions allow power relations to be correctly perceived. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 363

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: classic conspiracism claims hidden power, while new conspiracism destroys the perceptual apparatus that reveals power—a reframe of how anti-institutional rhetoric blinds citizens.
• XREF: connects to: Collapse of institutional trust creates a narrative power vacuum that conspiracy ideologies fill — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 122; New conspiracism ascribes organized power to plotters it never musters itself — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 76; New conspiracism operates without theory because its sole product is delegitimation — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 82 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• New conspiracism abandons explanatory theory and targets democratic legitimacy #expands (0.90) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 11
• Conspiracism functions as a political explanation of hidden power #expands (0.85) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 1077
• A new conspiracism form drops explanation and aims at disorientation. #expands (0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 49
• New conspiracism dissolves shared perceptions of political reality #expands (0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 373
• In totalitarian states, real power correlates inversely with institutional visibility #complicates (0.80)
• New conspiracism abandons evidence while classic conspiracism theorizes it #expands (0.80)
• New conspiracism offers cheap knowingness as an elite status #expands (0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 95