Conspiracies of Conspiracies

Book excerpt: “The most comprehensive intellectual history of American conspiracy theories yet produced.” —The American Historical Review It’s tempting to think we live in an unprecedentedly fertile age for conspiracy theories, with seemingly each churn of the news cycle bringing fresh manifestations of large-scale paranoia. But the sad fact is that these narratives of suspicion—and the delusional psychologies that fuel them—have been a constant presence in American life for nearly as long as there’s been an America. In this sweeping book, Thomas Milan Konda traces the country’s obsession with conspiratorial thought from the early days of the republic to our own anxious moment. Conspiracies of Conspiracies details centuries of sinister speculations—from antisemitism and anti-Catholicism to UFOs and reptilian humanoids—and their often-incendiary outcomes. Rather than simply rehashing the surface eccentricities of such theories, Konda draws from his extraordinary assemblage of conspiratorial writing to crack open the mindsets that lead people toward these self-sealing worlds of denial. What is distinctively American about these theories, he argues, is not simply our country’s homegrown obsession with them but their ongoing prevalence and virulence. Konda proves that conspiracy theories are no harmless sideshow. They are instead the dark and secret heart of American political history—one that is poisoning the bloodstream of an increasingly sick body politic. “Meticulous scholarship . . . essential context for understanding our present mess.” —Survival: Global Politics and Strategy “Incisive and engaging . . . Konda’s assessment of the ‘new dynamics’ of conspiracy theories in contemporary US politics is a significant contribution. Written with a clarity of expression rare in academic writing, the book is accessible to a wide readership.” —Choice