 |
| Conspiracy theories often attempt to portray members of out-groups as Satanic conspiracists, who scheme to undermine the "good people" who put their faith in the rhetoric of a radicalizing mass movement. |
This essay will elaborate further on the "ego maintenance process", which was introduced in earlier essays in the Unified Theory of Fascism series and described as the key factor which identifies a fascist movement and provide a brief introduction to the role of conspiracy theories as "grievance narratives" that are ultimately fuel for that process. Later essays in this series will describe how the grievance narratives typically employ the same "ego defense mechanisms" elaborated on by Sigmund and Anna Freud.
For the sake of clarity, the ego maintenance process will be broken down into a series of steps:
1. The initial stress: The individual with neurotic and authoritarian tendencies experiences a life stress that prevents him or her from equaling or exceeding the prosperity they grew up with. For movements that result in acts of extreme violence, this initial stress may be considered analogous to the "pre-crime stress" which precedes the first horrific act of violence by a serial killer. In Weimar Germany the source of stress was the fallout from the First World War, which included economic uncertainty, and for many families the loss of a generation of young men. In the modern day US, the source of stress is the economic fallout that has come from the out-sourcing of jobs, the loss of factory work in many parts of the country, and an economy that has transitioned to a retail and service based focus that many young men are not equipped for due to their lack of tact and social skills.
2. Perception of failure: Those individuals perceive their inability to enjoy the same prosperity that they enjoyed in their parents' household as a form of personal failure, and develop a "neurotic split" between the elements of the psyche. (Horney, K., 1937) It appears that in the budding fascist, that split leads to the id and the ego overwhelming and subjugating the super-ego, permitting the individual to become capable of acts of extreme violence, and of adopting social ideas that they may have once found abhorrent.
3. Introduction of the agitator: It is at this point the political agitator steps in with a variety of scapegoats and conspiracy theories that the neurotic authoritarian may feast from. Political agitators provide an endless buffet of social out-groups and scapegoats who can be assigned blame for creating the conditions that led to the neurotic authoritarian's sense of failure in life. Historian Richard Hofstedter described America's tendency towards a "paranoid style" of rhetoric. (Hofstadter, R., 1964) There is almost always a ready supply of agitators at hand at any time in America. Those whose messaging is timed properly to coincide with a rising perception of failure among the masses are the ones who appear to have the greatest influence on history.
4. Reinforcement: In his book The True Believer Erik Hoffer suggested that proselytizing mass movements may benefit themselves when they engage in actions that appeal to the frustrated mind, and which drive followers to engage in acts that drive them further away from the rest of society and reinforce their sense of social isolation. (Hoffer, E., 1951) It appears this dynamic is clearly present in modern day supporters of Donald Trump, who openly espouse racist ideologies, and who engage in social crusades such as complaining about "critial race theory", an act that many have come to perceive as a thinly veiled call for restoring white supremacy in American society.
As mentioned above, conspiracy theories serve as grievance narratives that allow the neurotic authoritarian to assign blame to various individuals or social groups for creating the conditions that caused them to suffer a decline in affluence. There is an important distinction here that must be made between political reformers, and political agitators. The political reformer is someone who identifies a particular problem, and is capable of outlining a particular course of action to provide relief for that problem. The political agitator is someone whose descriptions of seeking relief always seem to -if not imply openly- then at least allude to the annihilation of some social, political, religious or ethnic group. Examples of the agitators' calls for extermination consist of Nazi complaints about "international Jewry", as well as modern Trump supporters complaining about "liberal elites", or suggesting that the only proper response to the existence of the Covid19 virus is that "China must pay". Believers in the "Q" conspiracy theory trade stories about wealthy politicians and international business leaders engaging in "child blood sacrifices".(Saric, I., 2020) There is an obvious historical parallel between Q-Anon claims about Hillary Clinton, and the Puritanical supersitions and accusations of witchcraft that led to the Salem Witch trials.
Conspiracy theories also serve as a "common media experience" for members of online communities. Just as members of the same religious sect, or individuals who grew up in the generation when there were the "big three" television broadcast networks have a common set of cultural references that they share, individuals who share the same links via online communities can draw from a shared body of sub-cultural references. That shared media experience helps to build unity within the fascist movement the same way that talking about famous Olympic events such as the "Miracle on Ice" is a form of social binder for die-hard sports fans.
The ego maintenance process may be broken down into four unique stages: initial stress, the neurotic split, the introduction of the agitator, and reinforcement. Ultimately, the adoption of conspiracy theories is a means of externalizing the sense of frustration that the neurotic authoritarian feels over their inability to meet a personal expectation of equaling or exceeding the financial prosperity of their parents household. Conspiracy theories that are designed to function as "grievance narratives" typically employ one of the ego defense mechanisms described by Sigmund and Ana Freud, and later essays in this series will address that topic. Conspiracy theories also serve as a social binder, by providing a common media experience for members of a radicalizing mass movement. That "common media experience" serves as a unifying social agent, no different than when Baby Boomers talk about seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, or when sports fans talk about seeing the "Miracle on Ice", or reminisce over favorite plasy from past World Series Games.
If you enjoyed this essay
please consider picking up a copy of my book
Comments
Post a Comment