The Ironic Tragedy of Conspiracy Theory

The attraction of conspiracy theories is, unsurprisingly, strongest when people feel disempowered. However, conspiracy theories don’t restore a feeling of control, but actually make people feel more disempowered and unable to free themselves, reducing the likelihood of political or empowering action. The problem is power and control.

However unlikely, unrealistic or paranoid the conspiracy theories might be, the conspiracy theorists correctly perceiv...