Conspiracies Are Everywhere. That's a Good Thing.

This is the era of conspiracy. From mRNA vaccines to Jeffrey Epstein, it seems that everywhere we turn there’s a secret group of elites trying to control everything. My personal favorite is the lizardman theory, which asserts that the world is being controlled by reptilian shapeshifters. I am honored to say that some subset of people, including some I met in real life, considered me one of those lizard elite.

But while many conspiracy theories, such as the lizardman theory, are just fodder for social media, others are having real impacts on the world. The conspiracy theories about mRNA vaccines, for example, are part of the reason the federal government just cut $500 million in funding. And the allegations of a “treasonous conspiracy” against the Obama administration are leading to real legal implications, including the raid of the former National Security Advisor’s home and offices earlier this month, and apparent grand jury investigations of many other opponents of the Trump Administration, including Obama himself. (In truly Trumpian fashion, our President posted a video imagining Obama being seized by officers in the Oval Office and thrown in jail.)

I hear a lot of people expressing concern about events such as these. And that’s not unreasonable. When conspiracy theories are leading to cuts to crucial science, and undermining the pillars of democracy, it’s possible they’ve gotten out of hand. I am not one of those who has much concern. The reason is quite simple: conspiracy theories are the symptom of society recognizing something has gone deeply wrong. Like a fever in an organism infected by a pathogen, they are necessary for us to get back into a healthy state.

Why do I say this? For too long, legal and political power has been wielded with very little transparency or accountability. From the Vietnam War to the NSA’s surveillance of US citizens, there is a shocking history of corruption in the US government — most of which appears to have had little if any impact on people in power. Conspiracy theories put scrutiny on systems of power that force them to be honest and forthright. Discussions about the Epstein conspiracy, for example, have laid bare the very biased system of justice that must be reformed.

The other virtue of conspiracy theories, however, is that they provide an opportunity for society to develop alternative narratives. The human tendency is for social groups to develop uni-narratives. This is how many religions have become large and strong. But in the modern era, there are too many cracks and fragilities in any uni-narrative. We need alternative stories that can test out the weaknesses of the uni-narrative, and come up with narratives quickly when the uni-narrative has clearly failed. So, in this way, conspiracy theories create discipline not just for people in power, but for the public at large. They force accountability on power; they create a testing ground for populist narrative.

This is not to say that there aren’t dangers from conspiracy theories. There are. I am particularly concerned about what the mRNA cuts will mean for the future of science, especially since the next pandemic could end civilization as we know it. But properly harnessed, conspiracy theories are not a threat but an opportunity. Those who seek change should see them as such — and even harness the skeptical, conspiratorial mentality to build movements for change.