2.2.Ideological reason There is also another explanatory model, it was thought up by the American historian Richard Hofstadter. He has written the book "Paranoid style in the American policy" where says that there is some energy of collective paranoia which at the crisis moments concentrates and splashed out in the conspiracy theory that leads to quite noticeable political consequences. Richard Hofstadter, one of the founders of the school of consensus, investigated the subconscious motives of political behavior, connecting the conflicts in the history with changes in social psychology. In His work “The paranoid Style of American politics“ gave the definition of a conspiracy theory as a belief in the existence of a ‘vast, insidious, preternaturally effective international conspiratorial network designed to perpetrate acts of the most fiendish character’ (p.14)Realizing offensive character of a "paranoid" label, Hofstadter emphasizes that he …show more content…
To find universal characteristics of style, Hofstadter goes to "paranoid classics": anti-Masonic literature of the 1820th and promotion of anti-Catholicism in the 19th century. Hofstadter allocates several signs of the paranoid style. The central image — a great conspiracy, the huge, but "silent" machine of influence which is directed to blast and destruct the habitual conduct of life. Consequences of a conspiracy seem apocalyptical: the crash of the whole worlds, political orders, systems of human values. People who have a paranoid style not just see plot signs in these or those historical plots, they consider a grandiose plot as the motivating force of events. Disability to a compromise, but readiness to fight up to the end is crucial. Paranoids agree only to an unconditional victory. The existence of so powerful and dangerous enemy is absolutely unacceptable therefore he has to be eliminated. Similar irreconcilability forces to set the unattainable
Conspiracy theories accuse others of a cover up by secret planning. They may be based on a hunch or even backed by evidence. To the curious mind, they bring about unanswered questions that have attracted the attention of many people throughout history. Among some of the more popular theories are the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; the death of Princess Diana; alien encounters in Roswell, New Mexico; and the idea that Elvis may still be alive. Perhaps the most intriguing theory, because of our neighboring location, is the underground bunker and seemingly strange characteristics at the Denver airport.
To conclude, Postman's analysis that Huxley's vision of the future has become more of a reality than that of Orwell's. Although the present day is not exactly how Huxley had envisioned it, our society will soon reflect the one created in Brave New World if it continues to progress as it had in the past few decades. Orwell's prediction does not hold much relevance in today's society. Our government is not constantly watching over us, they have more important difficulties to overcome. Government is not concerned with the actions of individuals; they base their decisions on the opinions of the masses. Huxley's travesty holds far more relevance than the prestigious social theory of Orwell.
When discussing the new science of politics laid out in the Federalist papers, it is imperative to understand that proponents of the Constitution had various reasons for writing these papers, not the least of which was convincing critics that a strong central government that would not oppress but actually protect individual freedoms as well as encouraging the state of New York to agree to ratify the Constitution.
The United States of America has engaged in the battle known as political polarization since before its foundation in 1776. From the uprising against the powerful British nation to the political issues of today, Americans continue to debate about proper ideology and attempt to choose a side that closely aligns with their personal beliefs. From decade to decade, Americans struggle to determine a proper course of action regarding the country as a whole and will often become divided on important issues. Conflicts between supporters of slavery and abolitionists, between agriculturalists and industrialists, and between industrial workers and capitalists have fueled the divide. At the Congressional level there tends to be a more prevalent display of polarization and is often the blame of Congress’ inefficiency. James Madison intentionally designed Congress to be inefficient by instating a bicameral legislation. Ambition would counter ambition and prevent majority tyranny. George Washington advised against political parties that would contribute to polarization and misrepresentation in his Farewell Address of 1796. Washington warns, “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” Today, the struggle to increase power between political parties results in techniques to gain even the smallest marginal gains. To truly understand political polarization, we must examine data collected through a variety of means, the effects of rapidly changing technology, and observe what techniques are used to create such a polarized political system.
In discussing the problems surrounding the issue of factionalism in American society, James Madison concluded in Federalist #10, "The inference to which we are brought is that the causes of cannot be removed and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects." (Federalist Papers 1999, 75) In many ways, the nature of American politics has revolved around this question since our country's birth. What is the relationship between parties and government? Should the party serve as an intermediary between the populace and government, and how should a government respond to disparate ideas espoused by the factions inherent to a free society. This paper will discuss the political evolution that has revolved around this question, examining different "regimes" and how they attempted to reconcile the relationship between power and the corresponding role of the people. Beginning with the Federalists themselves, we will trace this evolution until we reach the contemporary period, where we find a political climate described as "interest-group liberalism." Eventually this paper will seek to determine which has been the most beneficial, and which is ultimately preferable.
Huxley illustrates just how a real world government can come to tyrannical power over its citizens through the fear of war and terror. Barr explains this very method when he states:
It seems that in all three of these works there is a sense of paranoia.
November 22, 1963 indicates the day that has ruined many of the American people’s trust in the government. It is also one of the biggest conspiracies that have never been solved by conspiracy theorists. Our 35th president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed that day. Numerous amounts of Americans say Lee Harvey Oswald was the culprit but I think Oswald never even touched the trigger. He was an easy suspect to be used for the crime, which may have been set up by the CIA who he was considered to be a member of. Since I was little, I would always wonder why our government would lie about JFK’s death because it didn’t make any sense to me and it still doesn’t. The only reason I could think is that the government is trying to hide one of the greatest conspiracies ever in American history, which seems logical. Ever since then, the government has become very secretive and scarier in my opinion. They are trying to hide the truth from the Americans and to keep them in a mist of not knowing anything. Ever since the JFK Assassination, the Government has become very secretive and scary in my opinion because we do not know who murdered JFK, Witnesses being abused and killed for speaking, and having the CIA shielding the citizens from the truth. I am a very curious person and if I hear about a conspiracy, I want to research deep into it to find out the truth. Just like other conspiracies such as the 9/11 attack and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, I want to know what is going on with the planet we are living on and I want to know the truth which comes to the conclusion of the question I want an answer to: Was John Fitzgerald Kennedy killed as the result of a conspiracy?
The poem “America” by Tony Hoagland reflects on how peoples’ minds are clouded by small-scale items, money, and the unimportance of those items. Metaphors and imagery are utilized to emphasize the unimportance of materialistic items in America. How America is being flooded with unnecessary goods. The poem uses examples of people to create an example and connection to the overall meaning.
In today's society people often pay close attention to what happens in politics. They normally make voting decisions on character, past work, and partisan lines. When rumors of indiscretion or impropriety of a public official pops up, people often like to get involved. Like gossiping on the church's rumor grapevine, people love to get involved in conspiracies and scandals dealing with people of power. If you have watched television at all in the last ten years, you have probably heard about Whitewater. Whitewater is the investigation into Bill Clinton's life before he became president. This alleged conspiracy goes much deeper though than just a crooked land deal. It has its fingers into power and manipulation and even death.
McDuffee, Allen. "Conspiracy Theories Abound After Navy Yard Shooting." Wired.com. Condé Nast, 20 Sep 2013. Web. 17 Oct 2013.
The obsessive-compulsive’s style of functioning is composed of excessive rigidity, the distortion of their subjective experience of autonomy, and the loss of reality. The obsessive-compulsive is highly resistant to the influences of others due to a restriction of cognition. Suspicious thinking and a loss of reality characterize the paranoid style. Projection is the paranoid persons’ primary defense. Paranoid people are chronically suspicious, contributing substantially to their loss of reality. The paranoid actively scans his environment, searches to confirm his suspicions, and ignores evidence that denies what he suspects to be true. The two styles are much alike; they both have a way of having loss of reality at times
Since the beginning of settled civilizations, people have had more mutual sharings than ever before. By the same token, there have been some conspiracy theories that are usually against the culturally accepted beliefs of religions, science and society. A conspiracy theory can be described so differently. However, as in his text, Marshall Brain explicates, a conspiracy is generally defined as a theory seeking to explain a disputed case or matter as a plot by a secret group or alliance rather than an individual or isolated act (Brain). Especially, after the new media has become quite popular, more and more conspiracies are theorized every single day, which aim to catch society’s attention via such media tools as the internet, journals and newspapers. Thus, people who theorize those conspiracies tend to use such objects as spiritual and mysterious ones in order to interest people. To illustrate, many examples can be given. For instance, many people have claimed that they were abducted by aliens, although they could show no evidences. Here, a citation from Blackmore could facilitate to understand the circumstance better. She states that people occasionally claim that they have been abducted from public places by aliens, in this case that may provide them with witnesses and affirmations but no evidence could be shown so far (Blackmore). As it is well known, only a small number of people believe such alien abductions, however, rating of this kind of news is quite high on media, because humankind has been wondering if there are extraterrestrial creatures out of the earth. Another example can be conspiracy theories which are about the origins of religions such as the rejection of Jesus Christ. There are some people who pay attention to...
Naomi Klein calls the Shock Doctrine an ideology, but what makes it an ideology. To answer this question ideology must be defined; sociologists would define ideology as knowledge that has been distorted by social, economic, or political interests. The Shock Doctrine uses the crippling capability of fear and panic to obscure the population’s beliefs causing them either to not stop or support government’s legislature that they normally would not. For example, the United States used 9/11 to push through neoliberal reforms and privatize the U.S. military, this is not a regulation that would have passed in a non-chaotic time and the government used the fear and confusion of the people to pass this reform (Klein, 2007).
Stephen Spender was truly an influential writer of the twentieth century. The greatest part of Spender's life was spent voicing his political opinions through his literary works. Stephen Spender's political views have changed through out his life. During the time he was a young adult, Spender's political opinions were radically liberal, however he gradually migrated his viewpoint to become more moderate in nature. Stephen Spender was labeled as a political writer and was credited with "bridging the gap of between pre-WWII modernism and all that came after". (Sternlicht P.115) Much of Spender's works took a personalistic approach as he documented his political ideas and theories.