Conspiracy Theories

A history of antisemitism is a history of the virality of fear and prejudice; and the main driver of that virality was the narrative of a nefarious conspiracy led by Jews to destroy society. Going beyond a purely descriptive definition—an assertion of the existence of a covertly operating group of people who seek to manipulate the course of events—conspiracy narratives can be mapped onto a specific perspective on power. They are fundamentally oversimplified ways, in which people attempt to make sense of power and how it is (unevenly) distributed in society. Antisemitism, on the other hand, constructs Jews as an abstract, intangible form of global power that dominates the world. This distinguishes antisemitism from most other forms of racism. Antisemitism tends to ascribe to the “Jew” an unlimited, albeit secretive, agency which justifies discrimination or even extermination. When looking at both antisemitism and conspiracy theories through the lens of power, their structural proximity becomes evident.