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"Conspiracism" is a term used by social scientists and scholars to refer to adherents of conspiracy theory and their way of looking at history and the world around them. The term was popularized by academic Frank P. Mintz in the 1980s. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This proposed logo for the US Information Awareness Office was dropped due to fears that its Masonic symbolism would provoke conspiracy theories. ... This proposed logo for the US Information Awareness Office was dropped due to fears that its Masonic symbolism would provoke conspiracy theories. ...

According to Mintz, conspiracism denotes: "belief in the primacy of conspiracies in the unfolding of history" (1985: p.4):

"Conspiracism serves the needs of diverse political and social groups in America and elsewhere. It identifies elites, blames them for economic and social catastrophes, and assumes that things will be better once popular action can remove them from positions of power. As such, conspiracy theories do not typify a particular epoch or ideology" (1985: p.199).

Throughout human history, political and economic leaders genuinely have been the cause of enormous amounts of death and misery, and they sometimes have engaged in conspiracies while at the same time promoting conspiracy theories about their targets. Hitler and Stalin would be merely the most prominent examples; there have been numerous others (Arendt). In some cases there have been claims dismissed as conspiracy theories that later proved to have some basis in facts (Fenster, Dean). But the idea that history is controlled by grandiose or long-standing conspiracies is dubious. As historian Bruce Cumings has put it: (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... (Russian, in full: Ио́сиф Виссарио́нович Ста́лин [Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin]; December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953) was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s to his death in 1953 and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1953...

"But if conspiracies exist, they rarely move history; they make a difference at the margins from time to time, but with the unforeseen consequences of a logic outside the control of their authors: and this is what is wrong with 'conspiracy theory.' History is moved by the broad forces and large structures of human collectivities."

The term has also been used by other authors including Michael Kelly, Chip Berlet, and Matthew N. Lyons, among others. Michael Kelly (1957-2003) was an editor-at-large of the Atlantic Monthly and a columnist for the Washington Post. ... John Foster Chip Berlet (born November 22, 1949) is the co-author of Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort and editor of Eyes Right! Challenging the Right Wing Backlash. ...

According to Berlet and Lyons, "Conspiracism is a particular narrative form of scapegoating that frames demonized enemies as part of a vast insidious plot against the common good, while it valorizes the scapegoater as a hero for sounding the alarm" (2000: p. 9).

"Conspiracy nut" is a pejorative term sometimes used to describe a conspiracist. It is based upon the perception that such beliefs are unfounded, outlandish, or irrational, or are otherwise unworthy of serious consideration.

See also

• Coincidence theory
• Black propaganda
• Conspiracy theories (a collection)
• David Icke
• John Birch Society
• Lyndon LaRouche
• Producerism
• Protocols of the Elders of Zion
• Pseudohistory
• Tim LaHaye
• Jack Chick

The term coincidence theory is used by proponents of controversial theories (often called conspiracy theorists) to counter those who dismiss their claims; they mean to express thus that these dismissals rely on too many coincidences to be plausible. ... Black propaganda is propaganda that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. ... A collection of conspiracy theories, including brief summaries. ... David Icke David Vaughan Icke, pronounced // (born April 29, 1952) is a former professional football player, reporter, television sports presenter, and British Green Party national spokesperson. ... The John Birch Society (JBS) is a conservative, Americanist organization founded in 1958 to fight what it saw as growing threats to the Constitution of the United States, especially communist infiltration, and to promote the free-enterprise system. ... Defunct California Proposition 64 North American Labour Party Party for the Commonwealth of Canada Parti pour la république du Canada U.S. Labor Party Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche, Jr. ... Grange poster depicting the independent, industrious farmer as the keystone figure in society. ... 1992 Russian edition of the Protocols, adapting Eliphas Levis portrayal of Baphomet. ... Pseudohistory describes claims about the past, which purport to be historic or supported by archeology, but which depart from standard practices of historical method and historiography to reach conclusions outside the domain of mainstream history. ... Timothy F. LaHaye (b. ... Jack Thomas Chick (born April 13, 1924) of Chick Publications is a comic book artist and publisher. ...

External links

• "Conspiracism as a Flawed Worldview" by Chip Berlet
• "On Being a Conspiracy Theorist" by Butler Crittenden, Ph.D.

References

• Michael Barkun. 2003. A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. Berkeley: Univ. of California. ISBN 0520238052
• Robert Alan Goldberg. 2001. Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300090005
• Chip Berlet & Matthew N. Lyons. 2000. Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort. New Yoirk: Guilford Press.
• Daniel Pipes. 1998. The Hidden Hand: Middle East Fears of Conspiracy. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
• Daniel Pipes. 1997. Conspiracy: How the Paranoid Style Flourishes and Where It Comes From. New York: The Free Press.
• Frank P. Mintz. 1985. The Liberty Lobby and the American Right: Race, Conspiracy, and Culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 031324393X
• Richard Hofstadter. 1965. The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0674654617
• Bruce Cumings. 1990. The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. II, The Roaring of the Cataract, 1947-1950 Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Hannah Arendt. 1973 [1951]. The Origins of Totalitarianism. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
• Mark Fenster. 1999. Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
• Jodi Dean. 1998. Aliens in America: Conspiracy Cultures from Outerspace to Cyberspace. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.