The Conspiracy Theory as a Vehicle for Personal Development

On hearing a conspiracy theory, it is natural to ponder about whether it is true or not.

But does this matter? When one is considering the forces that shape our lives?

If one person earnestly believes that the entire world is controlled by some evil character, let’s call him “Mr Big,” then does it matter that Mr Big might not exist?

No. What matters is how many people believe in him and how much emotional energy the belief conjures up. This latter tends to dictate how much action the believers are likely to take.

In considering the latter element - how much emotion - a psychological factor comes into play. This relates to the possibility that there exists an interpretation of our lives that we have never considered before.

Movies like The Matrix or The Truman Show derive their ongoing popularity from this principle. What if I really am strapped to a chair somewhere, with electrodes fixed to my skull? What if everyone around me, that I know, are all just actors playing parts? Watching these films, we naturally begin to introspect on these possibilities, which are not easy to disprove.

What if something I had accepted to be true about my life was false? Introspecting on this possibility, we may experience a huge uptick in our personal energy level.

On first exposure to the books of popular conspiracy theorist, David Icke, many people relate feeling like they’re on fire. They experience being filled with energy, often for months afterwards. Why might this be?

Likely, they had been suppressing their natural energy for many years, living in low self-esteem. But, on reading the book, it all became clear. It’s not that I’m just not good enough. It’s not that I don’t apply myself. It’s not me. I’m just being held down by Mr Big!

Mr Big might not exist. But the belief that he does has the power to fill us with energy, to liberate us from self-suppression. He has his uses.

In considering whether a Mr Big-type narrative might have the power to release energy from the core of our psyche, one might take into account several factors…

• Can it be easily disproven? If so, it won’t be of much use. Ideas which are hard, or impossible, to disprove work best.

• Does it rock our worldview? The more assumptions about who we are that it challenges, the better.

• Does it assign responsibility outside of ourselves, for something that we had previously assumed to be “our fault?”

A credible theory which achieves all of these aims makes for a powerful change agent. (You may notice that whether the narrative is true or not is irrelevant).

So, conspiracy theories can fulfil an important psychological role for some people. But why should this be?

I think that the process of taking more responsibility for our lives is not straightforward. And that it is useful for some people to acquire an external hate-figure to mobilise their suppressed anger. In similar fashion, people in therapy usually need to viscerally hate their parents for a period, before they can come to feel genuine love for them.

Panning out, we might reflect upon the effect that the growing presence of conspiracy theories in our society might be having…

Politician: But why should we change our policy direction? None of these mad theories are true!

PR Consultant: I know, minister. But thousands of our citizens believe that they are!

Have we come to a place yet where governments have to take account for the presence of popular conspiracy theories? I don’t know.

But there does seem to be a “method” in what might be termed “this madness.” For many people, there is a now ripeness in their unconscious minds, to come out of self-suppression and to take more responsibility for their lives, and by extension our world.