Who believes in conspiracy theories, and why
It turns out that President Barack Obama has been very busy with his job so far: he forged a birth certificate to hide his true identity as a foreigner, as part of his health care plan he created "death squads" to determine who would live and who would die, he plotted to destroy religious freedoms in the US through the coercion of contraceptives in religious institutions, blew up the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig to gain support for his environmental agenda, secretly planned Syrian chemical weapons attacks to prepare the ground for war, prevailed on the shooting of a Transportation Security Agency (TSA) security guard to strengthen that agency's powers, ordered about the Sandy Hook school massacre to advance gun control legislation and build concentration camps to detain Americans who would oppose his policies.
Do people really believe in such conspiracy theories? Indeed yes, and in alarmingly high numbers. This is what an empirical study recently conducted by Joseph A. Oshinsky and Joseph M. Parent, two professors of political science at the University of Miami, and published their findings in their book "American Conspiracy Theories" (Oxford University Press, 2014). About a third of Americans, for example, believe the claim that Obama is not American. A similar proportion believe that the 11/XNUMX terrorist attack was an "inside job" of the Bush administration.
The idea that the believers in such things are a bunch of white nerds living in the basements of their parents' houses is also a myth. Oshinsky and Parent's surveys show that belief in conspiracies "crosses genders, ages, ethnicities, income levels, political affiliations, education levels and occupational statuses." For example, people on both sides of the political fence, left and right, believe similar rates in conspiracies, although each side finds its own topics. People on the liberal left tend to suspect that the media and political parties are pawns of capitalist and corporate tycoons, while people on the conservative right believe that academia and liberal elites control those very organizations. Leftists tend to embrace genetically engineered food (GMO) conspiracies, such as those that claim Monsanto is plotting to destroy small farmers. In contrast, the people of the right tend to embrace conspiracies related to climate change, accusing, among other things, climate scientists in academia of changing data to destroy the American economy.
Ethnicity also has an effect. African-Americans tend to believe that the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA, planted hard drugs, such as crack, in inner-city neighborhoods. White Americans tend to believe that the government is plotting to tax the rich to support women trying to cheat welfare and to turn America into a socialist utopia.
However, it is encouraging to discover that Oshinsky and Parent found that education reduces conspiratorial thinking: 42% of the respondents who did not finish high school tended to think this way, in contrast to 23% of those with a bachelor's degree. And yet, the findings indicate that one in five American university graduates tend to believe in conspiracies. As an educator, I find this a cause for concern.
Additional factors influence the creation of conspiratorial thinking. Oshinsky and Parent write that in laboratory experiments "researchers found that states of anxiety and loss of control push the respondents to find imaginary patterns and come up with conspiratorial explanations". They add that in the real world "evidence has been found that disasters (such as earthquakes) and other stressful situations (such as job insecurity) push people to invent, adopt and repeat conspiracy theories."
According to Oshinsky and Parent, a conspiracy theory is endowed with four characteristics: "(1) a group (2) works in secret (3) to change institutions and organizations, usurp power and authority, hide the truth or obtain profits for itself (4) at the expense of the common good." A content analysis of more than 100,000 letters to the New York Times system over 121 years yielded three pages of such theories dealing with a variety of topics, from Adolf Hitler and the African National Congress to the World Health Organization and Zionist settlers. The researchers classified the theories into eight types: left, right, communism, capitalism, government, media, foreign (American) issues, and others (Masonic, American Medical Association, and even scientists). The common theme for all of them is power, who has it and who wants it. The researchers therefore conclude their investigation with the conclusion that Parent translated from Niccolò Machiavelli's book "The Prince" (which is like a guide to conspiracy theory): [All conspiracies deal with] "the strong desire to rule, and the weak desire not to be controlled."
And to all conspiracy theorists, remember the slogan of revolutionaries everywhere: sic semper tyrannis - so always to tyrants.
About the author
Michael Shermer is the publisher of Skeptic magazine (www.skeptic.com). His next book is: "The Moral Noah's Ark of Science". Follow him on Twitter: @michaelshermer
51 תגובות
89
I understand that your opinion must not be contradicted…..
And the Iranian army is really a "hit". I will visit this good site, but will not respond soon.
89
The IDF.... Hmmmmm... When did the IDF last stop an attack on Israel?
89
There was a military thinker named Clausewitz who said if I am not mistaken that war is too serious to be left to the generals. My advice to you is to think carefully before you spew nonsense. It is evident from your words that you have no background in political science, history and decision-making.
OK, that's what the army is for.
89
Are you convinced that the logic of Iran's leaders is the same as yours, and therefore they will not attack Israel?
Either black or white. Israel receives a complex treatment to mask fear, they show contempt. Israel looks down on Iran without showing fear. A normal country prepares itself, but does not show terror and fear.
89
"That's why they despise Israel, but also fear her" - decide...
The Iranians believe that Israel is an "imperialist branch of America", i.e. "the little devil". That is why they despise Israel, but also fear her. It is clear that Iran does not see how arrogant and imperial she is herself.
89
What do you base that on? The USA is not the largest economy in the world, so why should we do business with them? And again - on what basis do you determine what someone else knows?
89
And maybe the Iranians are fooling the Americans? The Middle East is going through many upheavals now and it will take years for it to stabilize. The Americans do not exactly understand what is happening here and the Iranians are taking advantage of it
Iran knows that they do business with America, and even though Israel scares them, America will already curb Israel. Indeed, it would be unnecessary to start a war against Iran. These are my assessments regarding Israel and the Middle East.
Ori
Religion is a conspiracy...belief in something illogical, without foundation, for negative purposes.
It is not clear to me, in terms of the principle, what is the difference between belief in a conspiracy and belief in Jesus in God in Muhammad…….
89
Are you claiming that Iran is afraid of Israel?
Obviously, it's true that Iran is nuclear (bombs+missiles) and its leadership talks like street boys. But in a war between them, it will hurt them 100 times (and they know it). Do not trust Saudi Arabia (they are aiming missiles made in China at Israel). Protecting Egypt and Jordan in America is required. And the Americans are truth tellers that in order to do business with them.
89
Not clear what you are trying to say.
Business as usual. Saudi Arabia/Iran = it's waste and it's prey.
89,
So the danger has passed, is everything alright?
Iran in a clever way adopted the Israeli policy of ambiguity. It is clear that Iran has nuclear weapons, even if they are scattered in parts throughout Iran. Bibi thanks the Iranians, so he could say 100 years from now that "he prevented nuclear weapons from Iran"
89,
And say what?
The United States wants what it wants, Saudi Arabia is a problematic country. Because Saudi Arabia supports terrorism, because Saudi Arabia discriminates against women, Saudi Arabia is not democratic. And Iran is a nuclear country whether we like it or not. So why boycott Iran forever? Because just as the Saudis have money, so does Iran. By the way, sanctions strengthen countries, so the Arab boycott caused Israel to develop a weapons, food, agriculture and even automobile industry. (The automobile industry collapsed when this boycott stopped).
89,
And say what?
What are your answers to the points I raised? Do you think that Saudi Arabia, for the amount of money there is and the connections to the USA, will remain indifferent to an Iranian nuke?
Maybe the time has come for a leader to speak at the level of the poor, and not just with pathos and passion.
89,
Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean I'm not being chased. I really like cynicism but your example is collapsing again, I think it's unnecessary to explain why.
By the way, if aliens come they will not attack Israel. They will attack the White House and maybe some IDF officer or Mossad person will help the Americans defeat them, that's what all the Hollywood movies say. You who live in a movie (because your answers are as shallow as a movie script) should know this better than anyone.
Miracles,
I'm left and you read what I think. In my opinion, one of the problems on the left is the lack of leadership that is able to talk about the Iranian threat with the tone and pathos that Bibi does. I estimate that in the next round (two years from now?) Diskin and Dagan will already be there as representatives of the security order, not necessarily as a classical left, but certainly against the Messianic forces represented by the Likud and the Jewish Home.
Life
I think like you. This is the big mistake of the left, in my opinion.
89
Again, you don't speak from knowledge. Too bad.
Shmulik, Israel is also ready for a foreign invasion. There is no country more ready and hysterical than Israel.
And there is a conspiracy for fun, Bibi converted to Islam during a secret visit to Saudi Arabia (he insisted on visiting Mecca)
Miracles
89 failed in what happens to many. I define this phenomenon as the failure of identical thinking. My intention is that if I think in a certain way then someone else also thinks like me and this is not always the case.
89,
It doesn't work that way. You have to prepare for the worst and when you can't prepare for the worst, you have to avoid it at all costs.
It's strange that some people are disappointed that Iran cannot destroy Israel.
89
You assume that the Iranian government thinks we have the ability to do them serious damage, and you assume that the Iranian government really cares....
I wonder what you base these two assumptions on.
89,
How does it answer my clauses? And if they decide to commit suicide? And if they transfer nuclear technology to terrorist organizations (dirty bomb)? What about creating an arms race between Arab countries?
There is no doubt that this is one of the biggest challenges that Israel faces and in my opinion your answers are superficial.
As mentioned, Tehran is a very dense city, and a facility in Boushar is really part of a big city. So even a conventional missile would be dangerous for them.
89
So you're saying that a country that has more weapons is more in danger? Are you aware that without that dangerous country (USA), Israel would have disappeared from the map a long time ago, without any doubt?
I suggest you watch the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGYxLWUKwWo - to understand Israel's security situation. Maybe it will make you think before you write unfounded things (I doubt it...).
89,
I answered you regarding the issue of reciprocity (sections 1 and 6) and your example of Poland is completely incorrect: I was not talking about the death of the leader but a catastrophic scenario of a fall in Gush Dan that would lead to the death of tens of thousands of people, many times as many injured and the complete destruction of such a quantity of property, of which It is impossible to recover except with the help of other countries.
On the other hand, you did not answer me on any section.
Miracles,
Everything I wrote about Bibi is true and has nothing to do with hating him. I think he is a terrible leader who has failed in everything as a leader and especially on the most important issue of all, the Iranian nuclear issue.
Nissim do me a favor, enough with the pressure. Israel is safer than the United States, where there are more weapons than people.
89
Overconfidence like yours has happened in the past as well. Some of us learned the lesson. Israel is in existential danger. get used to it. Iran's situation is of no interest to anyone, certainly not its leadership.
Regarding the leadership, for example the Polish government flew to a ceremony in Russia and the plane crashed (it seems that the Prime Minister of Poland decided to give the pilot instructions). And Poland still stood up even though the leadership was killed. We had a prime minister who suffered from depression, obviously he didn't function. Israel exists without a budget, and some say Bibi did nothing. Enough with the nuclear panic, Israel is not going anywhere.
Tehran is more crowded than Gush Dan, even if we didn't have nuclear weapons we could launch a missile at an Iranian nuclear reactor. Seoul continues to function even without huge defense budgets. We should get along with Iran (an agreement is good). And not to interfere in the Sunni/Shiite conflict.
89
Shmulik said many things, and I agree with them all. Israel is the only country in the world that is in existential danger, for two reasons. One reason is Iran, in particular, and Islam in general. The second reason is the blindness of some of us to this situation!!
I don't hate Bibi as extreme as Shmulik, but I also think he is a terrible prime minister, mainly because he is dealing with one problem, and not the other.
I am much more disturbed by the rants of ill-informed and low-personality conspirators of the type of Mr. "*6==/_89" than the "rants" of a Prime Minister at whose door lies all the real and current information and he does not sleep at night with the pens of this information.
89,
First, full disclosure: I wrote on the website in another thread my deadly opinion about Bibi. Having said that, it should be told in Rish Gali that a nuclear Iran is a terrible problem for the State of Israel.
1. We do not have a second reaction capability in the sense that if the Dan bloc is bombed with nuclear weapons, the State of Israel will de facto cease to exist.
2. Iran is developing its technological capabilities, very quickly. Maybe today she doesn't have the ability for a second strike, but tomorrow she will. You have to look a little beyond the nose.
3. Iran will not have to bomb us directly. She supports all terrorist organizations and imagine that they transfer nuclear technologies to murderous organizations that have no God and are ready *to die with invasions*?
4. A nuclear Iran makes it very difficult for us to enter into conventional wars against the terrorist organizations around us (and if Bibi it is a rotation every two years or so)
5. A nuclear Iran will cause other Arab countries to pursue nuclear weapons. Egypt and Saudi Arabia also going nuclear is not good news for us.
6. The comparison with Japan and Ukraine is not good since their neighboring countries do not have the intense religious apocalyptic element that exists in the Muslim religion. Japan is not threatened as we are. In other words, Israel cannot play the card of threat of mutual destruction (which works so well with the Americans and Russians) because it is not clear that the Iranian regime (or apocalyptic terrorist organizations) will always behave rationally when the rationale is your rationale.
By the way, North Korea versus South Korea is a better example for you, but even in the madness that exists in North Korea there is no apocalyptic element.
In light of all this, I'm amazed that the leadership of the swindler leaves the security arena to Bibi, instead of telling everyone that he also failed in the Iranian issue, or especially in the Iranian issue. He has been in office for 6 years and Iran is a nuclear threshold country. As Einstein said: Insanity is trying to do the same thing over and over again and hoping that this time the result will be different.
Don't be crazy.
Even so, Israel is strong enough to defend itself. Why are we speaking for the Saudis? As I said to Israel, you could strike a second blow, and like Japan, Ukraine is still standing. Without Tali Haetz, then enough with the panic around Iran.
What about warranty! It is a fact that Iran has created a series of nuclear industries! And there are nuclear power stations there, and they have the knowledge to make a bomb, a factory and reactors for heavy water, and missiles! Everything exists and that is why Iran is a nuclear country. But Iran is fighting Israel until the last Lebanese, Syrian or Gazan. It is enough to eat Bibi's words.
89
When you have no responsibility then you can say whatever you want...
Iran is a nuclear country, and it will not destroy Israel.
The translation of Shermer's book is wrong. The moral arc- the moral arc, not Noah's ark...
confirator
Yes - it is convenient for conspirators to blame others for the nonsense they spread.
There is a belief that some of the conspiracies were planted/invented by the governments so that the worse truth would be seen as another conspiracy of madmen.