A Lot of People Are Saying

Nancy L. Rosenblum; Russell Muirhead

Nancy L. Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead

A Lot of People Are Saying

The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy

Princeton University Press | 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691190068

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book identifies a new type of conspiracism which has emerged in recent years and which aims not to explain, but to undermine and delegitamize the institions of government.

How the new conspiracists are undermining democracy—and what can be done about it

Conspiracy theories are as old as politics. But conspiracists today have introduced something new—conspiracy without theory. And the new conspiracism has moved from the fringes to the heart of government with the election of Donald Trump. In A Lot of People Are Saying, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum show how the new conspiracism differs from classic conspiracy theory, why so few officials speak truth to conspiracy, and what needs to be done to resist it.

Classic conspiracy theory insists that things are not what they seem and gathers evidence—especially facts ominously withheld by official sources—to tease out secret machinations. The new conspiracism is different. There is no demand for evidence, no dots revealed to form a pattern, no close examination of shadowy plotters. Dispensing with the burden of explanation, the new conspiracism imposes its own reality through repetition (exemplified by the Trump catchphrase “a lot of people are saying”) and bare assertion (“rigged!”).

The new conspiracism targets democratic foundations—political parties and knowledge-producing institutions. It makes it more difficult to argue, persuade, negotiate, compromise, and even to disagree. Ultimately, it delegitimates democracy.

Filled with vivid examples, A Lot of People Are Saying diagnoses a defining and disorienting feature of today’s politics and offers a guide to responding to the threat.

Author information

Russell Muirhead is the Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics at Dartmouth College and the author of The Promise of Party in a Polarized Age and Just Work. He lives in Hanover, New Hampshire. Nancy L. Rosenblum is the Senator Joseph Clark Research Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government at Harvard University. Her books include Good Neighbors: The Democracy of Everyday Life in America and On the Side of the Angels: An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship (both Princeton). She lives in New York City.

Reviews

"[Muirhead and Rosenblum] are convincing in their argument that there is something different afoot in the world of conspiracy and that danger lies ahead if we don't confront it with truth and action."

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
CONTENTS Free access PDF PDF	vii
PREFACE Free access PDF PDF	ix
Introduction Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
SECTION I. THE NEW CONSPIRACISM
1. Conspiracy without the Theory Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	19
2. It’s True Enough Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	42
3. Presidential Conspiracism Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	59
SECTION II. DELEGITIMATING DEMOCRACY
4. Political Parties Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	81
5. Knowledge Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	101
6. Who Owns Reality? Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	122
SECTION III. DEFENDING DEMOCRACY
7. Speaking Truth Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	141
Conclusion. THE CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	166
NOTES Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	177
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	201
INDEX Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	203

A Lot of People Are Saying

The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy

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