rod mclaughlinThe best article about conspiracy pseudo-theories I've ever read (16 feb 16)
"Like all good conspiracy theories, the “system” has a coherent internal logic that seeks to explain all things – and, when it fails to do so, explain away the failure to explain that which it cannot explain. The Smolensk catastrophe is a perfect example. The “system” offers a motive: the Russians killed Lech Kaczyński because he was fighting to expunge Poland (and other post-Soviet states) of Russo-communist influence; Civic Platform covered up Kaczyński’s murder because it stood to gain both from the continuation of that Russo-communist influence and from Kaczyński’s demise. It explains the failure to unearth evidence of assassination: because state-appointed aviation experts conducted the investigation, their conclusion that it had been an accident proves that the state remains in the hands of the perpetrators (Law and Justice defence minister Antoni Macierewicz described their investigation as the greatest cover-up “in the history of the world”). Finally, it provides grounds for revenge: in November, a Law and Justice spokeswoman suggested that Donald Tusk might be put before a state tribunal for his role in the cover-up once his term as president of the European Council is over. The existence of the “system” explains Smolensk; Smolensk proves the existence of the “system”." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/conspiracy-theorists-who-have-taken-over-poland I wish I'd said that. My only quibble is with the term "conspiracy theory". A real conspiracy theory is a theory about a conspiracy. Conspiracies happen; there are genuine theories about them. For example, the official report on 9/11. A "theory" which cannot be falsified, because it can always explain away any attempted falsification, is a pseudo-theory. For example, September 11th 2001 was an inside job. Back
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