What do the most widespread conspiracy theories have in common?
The belief that there’s no man-made global warming absolves us from the responsibility of having to painfully compromise to slow greenhouse gas emissions.
The belief that there’s a sinister, hidden group of people running the country absolves us from our civic duties, including having to vote in a responsible manner.
The belief in intelligent aliens visiting Earth absolves us from the burden of responsibility of being the only intelligent civilization. If we aren’t then we don’t have to worry so much about spreading our light to other worlds.
Mainstream religions absolve us of responsibility too. If there is a God, whatever is happening is His will, so we don’t have the responsibility to change them for the better. While this is a caricature of what religion is about, it may explain some of its attractiveness.
All of the above have in common that they absolve us of our responsibility not to ourselves, but to the planet and to humanity, or at least a part of it. I am not aware of any conspiracy theory that says, “there is a hidden demonic power that controls your appetite, so go ahead, eat as much cake as you want,” or anything to the effect.
This selfish negation of responsibility to nation, planet or humanity explains why conspiracy theories leave a bad taste in one’s mouth: It’s not because so many are based on obvious lies, but because they encourage their followers to care less about the things that matter.
Nehaveigur 