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Russell Muirhead joins us to discuss the difference between conspiracism and conspiracy theory and how it influences modern political discussions.
Russell Muirhead joins us to discuss the difference between conspiracism and conspiracy theory and how it has influenced modern political discussions. Classic conspiracy theory insists that things are not what they seem and gathers evidence—especially facts ominously withheld by official sources—to tease out secret machinations. The new conspiracism is different. There is no demand for evidence, no dots revealed to form a pattern, no close examination of shadowy plotters. Dispensing with the burden of explanation, the new conspiracism imposes its own reality through repetition (exemplified by the Trump catchphrase “a lot of people are saying”) and bare assertion (“rigged!”).
What makes a theory a conspiracy theory? What is ‘conspiracism’? What is the difference between gossip and news? What are the foundations of society and how are they fragile? Do people care about facts?
A Lot of People Are Saying, written by Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum
The Promise of Party in a Polarized Age, written by Russell Muirhead
Conspiracy Without the Theory, written by Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum
Why conspiracy theories are getting more absurd and harder to refute, written by Sean Illing
The Problem with “Fake News”, written by Ryan Khurana
In the Pursuit of Self Government, Does Quality News Matter?, Anthony Comegna and Caleb O. Brown
The Coddling of the American Mind, Free Thoughts Podcast
Russell Muirhead is the Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics at Dartmouth College and the author of The Promise of Party in a Polarized Age and Just Work. He lives in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Trevor Burrus was a research fellow in the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and editor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. His research interests include constitutional law, civil and criminal law, legal and political philosophy, legal history, and the interface between science and public policy.
He is the editor of A Conspiracy against Obamacare (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and Deep Commitments: The Past, Present, and Future of Religious Liberty (Cato, 2017). Burrus holds a BA in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He also contributed a chapter to Libertarianism.org’s Visions of Liberty.
Aaron Powell founded Libertarianism.org. He is now the host of (Re)Imagining Liberty, a podcast about the case for radical freedom.