A lot of people are saying : the new conspiracism and the assault on democracy / Russell Muirhead, Nancy L. Rosenblum.
Record details
- ISBN: 0691188831
- ISBN: 9780691188836
- Physical Description: ix, 211 pages ; 23 cm
- Publisher: Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2019]
- Copyright: ©2019
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Section I. The new conspiracism. Conspiracy without theory -- It's true enough -- Presidential conspiracism -- Section II. Delegitimating democracy. Political parties -- Knowledge -- Who owns reality? -- Section III. Defending democracy. Speaking truth. -- Conclusion: The crisis of democracy. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | United States > Politics and government > 21st century. Conspiracy theories > United States. Democracy > United States. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Kenton County.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Covington Branch | 320.973 M953L 2019 (Text) | 33126024633863 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
Explains how the New Conspiracists are undermining democracyâand what can be done about it. - Baker & Taylor
A look at how a new type of conspiracy that focuses not on research and gathering of facts, but instead on repetition of falsehoods, is damaging our democracy in the era of Trump. - Princeton University Press
How the new conspiracists are undermining democracyâand what can be done about it
Conspiracy theories are as old as politics. But conspiracists today have introduced something newâconspiracy 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 evidenceâespecially facts ominously withheld by official sourcesâto 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 foundationsâpolitical 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.