New conspiracism offers no vision of what should replace delegitimized government

Evidence

Where classic conspiracism offers hopeful—sometimes utopian—accounts of what exposing the conspiracy can accomplish, the new conspiracism is not aspirational. Conspiracists offer no notion of what should replace the reviled parties, processes, and agencies of government once covert schemes are revealed. They are without political prescriptions or an ounce of utopianism. Even when the new conspiracism foresees an apocalyptic climax, as it does for Trump adviser Steve Bannon, there is no phoenix rising from the ashes. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 74

Categorization

• DEFINE: Core contrast: classic conspiracism was aspirational/utopian; new conspiracism is purely destructivist with no replacement program.
• XREF: connects to: Political delegitimation needs no alternative ideology, only angry conspiracism — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 28; New conspiracism lacks ideology and political theory, producing only disorientation — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 73; 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 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• New conspiracism operates without theory because its sole product is delegitimation #corroborates (0.87) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 82
• New conspiracism abandons explanatory theory and targets democratic legitimacy #corroborates (0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 11
• New conspiracism is a closed system that abandons explanation entirely #corroborates (0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 109
• New conspiracism rejects parties with no reform agenda at all #expands (0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 217