The View | What all these conspiracy theories are telling us about ourselves
New research by Standard Chartered delves into the age of disaffection and the rejection of perceived elites
In a recent piece titled “The Rise of Fringe Politics”, Standard Chartered investment strategist Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce looked at how populist paranoia is buoying non-traditional political parties or candidates.
“A growing phenomenon that is playing an important new role – helped by the development of the internet – is the rise of conspiracy theories. These can have the same roots as fringe politics (a loss of trust in the establishment and mainstream media), and the two can reinforce each other,” the report said.
Dauba-Pantanacce points to the tendency of politicians to make grand and unrealistic campaign promises. When there is no follow-up, voters revolt against the mainstream and try alternatives, whether that be the UK Independence Party, the tea party in the United States, or the National Front in France.
He writes: “The disconnect between campaign promises and the actual policies implemented after elections will generally lead to a disaffection with politics, a rejection of the perceived elites and of traditional mainstream parties and, ultimately, the rise of fringe politics and anti-system parties driven by a belief in ‘disruption’ or ‘trying something different’.”
Well, that seems fair enough - why not throw the lying bums out? Unfortunately, some of the outsiders peddle even emptier promises, like the one that a serially bankrupt businessman named Donald Trump is going to save the world from both ISIS and Chinese mercantilism.
A lack of trust in official expertise has extended beyond politics into many other spheres, and contributed to British voters’ decision to exit the European Union
