Are there any good books which explore the history of conspiracy theories, or the phenomenon of conspiracy theories, in an effort to explain why people are drawn to them?
The internet in general, and YouTube in particular, seem to have ushered in a golden age of conspiracy theories. 9/11 truthers. Obama’s-planning-to-take-our-guns conspiracies. Bilderberg Group conspiracy theories. (Sadly) Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.
I know way too many young people who spend a lot of time on YouTube and who buy into these wild theories uncritically. I’d like to find a book which examines conspiracy theories as a psychological phenomenon. A book which might help my deluded young friends step outside themselves and see that they are letting themselves become part of a long tradition of silly human paranoia.
Although it’s a novel I’d say Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum explores the issues you’ve raised exceptionally well. It was written before the internet age (1988) but captures the mindset of the conspiracists perfectly.
I don’t know of any books, but it’s hardly a problem among “young” people.
The Internet probably brings them to the forefront a bit more, but it doesn’t seem like there are any more conspiracy theories than before.
Examples: Francis Bacon (or Ben Jonson or whoever) as the real author of Shakespearean plays, the Illuminati, JFK assassination, RFK assassination, MLK assassination, Lincoln assassination, faked moon landing, UFOs, HIV/AIDs as CIA plot, fluoridation of water for mind control, various international cabals controlling the world clandestinely - including the Trilateral Commission, the Federal Reserve, the UN, the Masons, various Jewish groups a la Protocols of the Elders of Zion, etc, - the sinking of the Maine as a false flag op to kick off the Spanish American War, suppression of 200 mpg car engines, suppression of all sorts of free energy technology, the Clintons involved in murder plots, <insert name here> selling the US out to <Japan/China/USSR/etc>, etc.
Oh, another fictional example by Eco: The Prague Cemetery. It covers late 19th century conspiracies. Most of the story and characters are real (though the central character and narrative is not).
Michael Shermer is a great recommendation. Also look at the magazine Skeptical Inquirer or other skeptic publications. Martin Gardner tried to expose a lot of cult stuff and so has James Randi.
another important book in this general arena is “The demon-haunted world : science as a candle in the dark” by Carl Sagan. Sagan understood that fear drove people to irrational beliefs & wanted them to understand that science was the way out of that darkness.
Thanks for the replies. Some good suggestions here.
Certainly not only among young people, but the young do seem especially prone to accepting uncritically the “news” they scrounge up on YouTube. Perhaps this is because they simply haven’t yet had enough life experience to develop all the critical thinking skills they need.
And while we have a long history of conspiracy theories (as I acknowledged in the OP), the internet does seem to have ushered in a sort of golden age for conspiracy theorists, making it much easier to share theories, easier to find like-minded people, and easier to refine conspiracy theories through the sort of “crowd sourcing” the internet provides.
But yes, there have always been credulous people (old and young) buying into conspiracy theories.
There’s " Real Enemies" by Kathryn Olmstead. It traces the shift of how conspiracy theories shift in the 20th century and the government’s role. It is an academic book by a university professor (I’m in her class right now, actually).
There’s also the “Paranoid Style in American Politics” by Richard Hofstadter.