Cult of Enlightenment and the Conspiracy Culture
The proverbial "conspiracy theorist" slur more often than not hits the mark. But does this exculpate the one throwing it about from further investigation? We think not. In this podcast we'll take a dip into history of conspiracy theories, beginning with Augustin Barruel, to offer an opinion why modern academics, journalists and pop intellectuals tend to lose their powers of discernment when conspiracy theories are on the menu. Also we lay out some historical facts about inception of antisemitic conspiracy theories, which are mistakenly conflated with original ideas of Barruel and his early fellow travelers, from the so called "Simonini letter" to "Protocols of Learned Elders of Zion". In this context we offer some updates on scholarship of the subject, which is reinvigorated by some recent works of historians of ideas.
