Conspiracy and Power
1. Edition November 2023
120 Pages, Hardcover
General Reading
Short Description
Conspiracy theories are neither delusions nor lies, neither simplistic fallacies nor psychological quirks: rather, they are a political problem. They are not so much about truth as about power. Rather than seeking to debunk conspiracy theories as the work of fringe groups and cranks, Donatella Di Cesare develops an original account that portrays conspiracy as the spectre of a shattered community.
With the proliferation of conspiracy theories, the distrust of politics and politicians turns into a boundless and pervasive suspicion. Who is behind the scenes? Who is pulling the strings? The world, which seems increasingly confusing and impossible to read, must have a hidden side, a secret realm, that of the Deep State and the New World Order, where plans are hatched, information is gathered and thoughts are controlled. It is no longer a matter of a one-off plot or intrigue. Conspiracy is the very form in which citizens who feel condemned to a frustrating impotence, helpless before a techno-economic juggernaut, and manipulated by a faceless power relate to the world. This is why conspiracy, which exposes the emptiness of democracy, proves to be a fearsome weapon of mass depoliticisation.
Conspiracy theories are neither delusions nor lies, neither simplistic fallacies nor psychological quirks: rather, they are a political problem. They are not so much about truth as about power. Rather than seeking to debunk conspiracy theories as the work of fringe groups and cranks, Donatella Di Cesare develops an original account that portrays conspiracy as the spectre of a shattered community.
With the proliferation of conspiracy theories, the distrust of politics and politicians turns into a boundless and pervasive suspicion. Who is behind the scenes? Who is pulling the strings? The world, which seems increasingly confusing and impossible to read, must have a hidden side, a secret realm, that of the Deep State and the New World Order, where plans are hatched, information is gathered and thoughts are controlled. It is no longer a matter of a one-off plot or intrigue. Conspiracy is the very form in which citizens who feel condemned to a frustrating impotence, helpless before a techno-economic juggernaut, and manipulated by a faceless power relate to the world. This is why conspiracy, which exposes the emptiness of democracy, proves to be a fearsome weapon of mass depoliticisation.
Politics and its shadow-realm
The unreadability of the world
Enigmas and misunderstandings
The workings of the plot
Democracy and power
The cause of all our ills
Hungry for myths
The Prague cemetery: the backdrop to the plot
Spokesmen for the deceived
Sovereign ressentiment
The New World Order
The "Great Replacement" and the QAnon patriots
The extreme taste for the apocalypse. Hidden enemies
Populism and the plot
Victimhood and political powerlessness
On the "heresy" of believers in plots: a critique of Umberto Eco
Transparency and secrecy. In the press
In praise of suspicion
Beyond anti-conspiracism
Notes
Quassim Cassam, University of Warwick
'An essential vade mecum for the descent into Wonderland that has become the daily fate of a connected citizen. Di Cesare anatomises the complex scenarios of malevolent forces, plots and secrets that thrive in the margins of media democracies and discovers they are less cause than consequence of the closing of contemporary public space.'
Howard Caygill, Goldsmiths, University of London
