From a pretty interesting Wikipedia article on conspiracy theories:
“Conspiratorial accounts can be emotionally satisfying when they place events in a readily-understandable, moral context. The subscriber to the theory is able to assign moral responsibility for an emotionally troubling event or situation to a clearly-conceived group of individuals. Crucially, that group does not include the believer. The believer may then feel excused of any moral or political responsibility for remedying whatever institutional or societal flaw might be the actual source of the dissonance.”
There’s more in the article on the psychological and socio-political origins of conspiracy theories. True believers might want to read that article see if they don’t see themselves there. If you can take a hard look at yourself, maybe you’ll see the world a little more clearly. If you can’t take a hard, honest look at yourself, you most likely never will.
