Conspiracies, conspiracy theories and projection

Governments and perpetrators of violence often use similar tactics to abusers. Source

Conspiracies and conspiracy theories have a complicated dual relationship. State agencies often promote conspiracy theories as part of psychological and information warfare either as a way to smear opponents, deflect responsibility and ‘muddy the waters’ so to speak. Multiple chapters of this book cover specific campaigns against various groups and many of these conspiracy theories of remain popular in society with little opposition. Even the term conspiracy theory has its own conspiracy theory: the claim being that ‘conspiracy theorist’ was invented by the CIA to discredit JFK conspiracy theorists. This has since been debunked. [i]

Genuine conspiracies breed conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theorists shouldn’t be mocked. Our capitalist society is built unequally, with the rich and powerful able to do as they please with little repercussion. If we consider anti-capitalist critiques of capitalism then really the argument is that capitalism is a conspiracy of one class (the capitalists and rich) over the workers, the poor and vulnerable. In this way conspiracy theorists are trying to explain why things happen the way they do, often without theoretical or philosophical critiques to help guide them. The issue then becomes this fault logic, a common refrain you might have already heard goes something like: “if this is what they have told us… imagine what they haven’t told us!” 

The absence of evidence becomes evidence itself which then can be used to believe all manner of things.

A common feature we see throughout many of the conspiracies covered is the DARVO tactic which stands for Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim & Offender (related concepts are also: accusation in a mirror (AiM)/ mirror propaganda/ psychological projection). These different tactics have been outlined by psychologists studying behaviour of psychological abusers, sexual predators and types of hate speech. Essentially perpetrators first deny crimes, then attack/bully victims and finally accuse the victim of having the aims or motives that the perpetrator actually has in order to justify themselves. The order is not always linear (AiM tactics only accuse the victim as perpetrator) and not formulaic but it is a helpful framework to keep in mind while reading about the conspiracies as you will find these tactics crop up through the various stages of conspiracy.

Political scientist Michael Rogin coined the term ‘political demonology’ for the method that countersubversive discourse (that is to say, mainstream discourse against radical and dissident ideology) creates demons and monsters of the enemy as a way to shape their anxiety and then indulge in their dark fantasies. [ii] Rogin traces this American fantasy to the early settler days in which symbols and monsters- the cannibal Indian, black rapist, demon rum and many tentacled communist conspiracy allowed state agencies to mirror and imitate these monsters supposedly to combat them. [iii]

We see this form of political demonology in multiple areas, and it is not particularly an American creation, it appears in many conspiracist states. The Nazis decried the Jews as starting a race war while they sent millions to death camps, the Latin American Condor nations similarly warned of the threat of socialist terrorism whilst they ordered killings and bombings across Europe and America. So too do we find in modern day similar warnings; ‘They hate our freedoms’ President Bush explained on TV as his administration oversaw ‘extraordinary’ renditions of terrorists and set up a black torture site at Guantanamo Bay.

The call was coming from inside the house.

[i] It has been proven that the term emerged in the early 20th century.

[ii] Michael Paul Rogin. 1988. Ronald Reagan, the Movie : And Other Episodes in Political Demonology. Berkeley ; Los Angeles ; London: University Of California Press. P.xiii

[iii] Ibid