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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Understanding conspiracy theories, 2 Jan 2010
The author deals with a number of well-known conspiracy theories, from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to the death of Dr David Kelly, by way of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the death of Marilyn Monroe, the assassinations of JFK and RFK, the moon landings, the Da Vinci code/bloodline of Jesus stuff, and 9/11 (among others) and to my mind demolishes them pretty thoroughly.
But he isn't just interested in debunking. He also examines why people believe in conspiracy theories and why they can exert such a strong grip on them. He points out that conspiracists tend to be on the "losing side" (politically, socially, or economically) of society, and that believing in conspiracies is therapeutic for them. They can explain why they are on the losing side ("we were robbed, deceived") salve their hurt ("the people who deceived us are so powerful, so evil, it's understandable that they appear to be the winners") and then restore their egos ("we have seen the truth, we are so much cleverer than ordinary people who are happy to be sheep-like in their acceptance of things; we are illuminated, in the know, we are special").
Interestingly he is able to develop this line in the light of some recent psychological and biological research which indicates we are genetically hard wired to look for causes and effects. This seems to be related to our developing tool-using capabilities; in order to develop and employ tools we need to think in cause and effect terms. (And of course while some animals to make occasional and specific use of natural objects as tools, humans are the only ones to do so extensively and develop the range of tools to use.) So we are uncomfortable with randomness - if something happens it must because someone caused it to, there's no such thing as an accident, someone must be to blame.
And the more prominent a person is, the more in the public eye, the greater the forces we feel must be needed to pull them down or kill them. Accidents and lone gunmen are for ordinary people, not special ones, and they certainly don't commit suicide.
Not only that but we have a fear of insignificance, of being ignored. If we feel we are being reduced to mere ciphers in a complex society believe in conspiracies is an effective therapy for us.
The author also takes a firm swing at the sort of relativism that exists in some circles and seems fashionable in certain academic circles, that says that one person's perception of what happened is as valid as another's, and that to insist on examining facts and evidence is not helpful.
An engrossing and informative read.
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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honest and intelligent, backed up by some real research, 13 Aug 2009
In this book, Aaronovitch looks into why many otherwise sane and rational people buy into the more outlandish conspiracy theories which litter modern social history, from the fraudulent and rabidly anti-semitic 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion,' manufactured in order to justify the persecution of Jewish people, to the '9/11 was an inside job' fantasists with their fraudulent pseudo-science and often dangerously anti-semitic propagandist agenda.
Others examined, in no particular order, are:
- the Stalinist show trials of the 1930s, where every failure of the Soviet industrial system was scapegoated onto 'conspiracists' singled out for persecution
- the conspiracy manufactured by right-wing 'America First' elements in the USA to discredit FDR by fraudulently claiming him 'responsible' for the Pearl Harbor attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1941 (it turns out that the IJN was apparently not let in on FDR's 'conspiracy', but carried out the attack because they thought they could sink US battleships)
- the Senator McCarthy witch-hunts in the 1950s against largely non-existent communists allegedly trying to wreck the USA from within
- attempts to 'conspiracise' the deaths of JFK, Marilyn Munro and Diana POW
- the highly profitable and surprisingly durable fantasy perpetrated by Baigent, Leigh et al about the alleged bloodline of Christ surviving through the Merovingians and the Templars up to modern times, side-tracking into the theories of such diverse and successful alternative-history authors as Erich Von Daniken and Graham Hancock
- the death of Hilda Murrell, finally proven beyond doubt to be murdered randomly by a local deranged criminal psychotic but at the time publicly 'conspiracised' by Tam Dalyell and others
- the suicide of Dr. David Kelly, fraudulently and clumsily conspiracised as a 'murder' by a serving Liberal MP Norman Baker
Each conspiracy claim is examined in forensic detail and the conspiracy-theorists' methods dissected and exposed with wit and intelligence. Aaranovitch is a genuinely thorough investigative journalist and has obviously read all the conspiracy books he reviews and attended conspiracists' meetings. He understands his source material, and has done his research.
The mechanism of conspiracy-theory generation is analysed with insightful and occasionally hilarious detail. A common list of components includes the citing of historical precedent ('there were conspiracies before in history, so therefore this must be one too'), frequent adoption of supporting pseudo-science, the weak and lazy 'we're just asking questions' line and a determination to ignore any and all evidence which demonstrates the theory to be wrong. Oh, and conspiracy-believers often claim to be 'under surveillance' to add spice to their otherwise small and humdrum lives.
In attempting to explain why otherwise sane and rational people choose to adopt a conspiracy-theory belief system, Aaronovitch has an interesting theory rather too detailed to explain in a short review. In brief, he demonstrates that throughout history conspiracy-theorists are generally found to be losers; those whose political views have often been marginalised or defeated by the mainstream and find comfort in adopting a belief-system that 'they' are somehow responsible for the failures and misfortunes. It is comforting to believe that Those Who Have Power are secretly controlling the world, and that you are part of a small select band of heroes who 'knows.' Some people find a narrative of intention and design comforting, and cannot accept the random and accidental element responsible for most of history's major events.
How comforting to believe, like some mediaeval peasant, that 'They' - the secret government, the Intels, the Jews, the bankers, or whoever - control everything and pull the strings, that you are privy to this secret knowledge and understanding, and superior to those who do not understand the conspiracy as you do. You can justify your own miserable failures because 'They' are plotting against you, and you can't win.
Even if you have no interest in conspiracy-theory belief systems and their propagation to the ignorant and the gullible, I recommend this book as a good read: it's excellently written, witty, dispassionate and thought-provoking, and a fine and original analysis of an interesting modern phenomenon.
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24 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A cry for common sense, 24 May 2009
Very simply, this the basis of this book is a number of alleged conspiracies. These include the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, US involvement in the attack on Pearl Harbour, secret service involvement in the killings of JFK, Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana and others, and US and Israeli involvement in 9/11.
Aaronovitch describes how the conspiracy theories arose, how they were propogated and evidence which finally debunks each of them in turn. He also goes further in examining the long term, frequently disastrous effects of belief in the specious conspiracies (particularly the Protocols) and also how adherents frequently continue to cling to their beliefs often long after they have been discredited, employing frightening Looking Glass logic that the weight of opposition is proof of veracity.
Overall the book is a plea for rationality and enlightenment over woolly thinking and credulity. One highly amusing but slightly unsettling chapter deals with Christ's bloodline where we find the exponents stating that in order to prove their theories they need to go beyond normal scholarship. Sounds good ? Nope its just means that the application of rigourous analysis makes their house of cards come tumbling down..
The book is not as some (and some reviews) have claimed a call for total belief in the word of government and unquestioning acceptanve of what we are told. It is precisely the opposite of those things, it is a call to examine all evidence with a genuinely open and rigourously analytical mind.
Overall the book is excellent, easily readable, intelligent, thought provoking and highly entertaining.
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