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A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy Hardcover – April 16, 2019

by Nancy L. Rosenblum (Author), Russell Muirhead (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 230 ratings
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How the new conspiracists are undermining democracy―and what can be done about it

Conspiracy theories are as old as politics. But conspiracists today have introduced something new―conspiracy without theory. And the new conspiracism has moved from the fringes to the heart of government with the election of Donald Trump. In A Lot of People Are Saying, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum show how the new conspiracism differs from classic conspiracy theory, why so few officials speak truth to conspiracy, and what needs to be done to resist it.

Classic conspiracy theory insists that things are not what they seem and gathers evidence―especially facts ominously withheld by official sources―to tease out secret machinations. The new conspiracism is different. There is no demand for evidence, no dots revealed to form a pattern, no close examination of shadowy plotters. Dispensing with the burden of explanation, the new conspiracism imposes its own reality through repetition (exemplified by the Trump catchphrase "a lot of people are saying") and bare assertion ("rigged!").

The new conspiracism targets democratic foundations―political parties and knowledge-producing institutions. It makes it more difficult to argue, persuade, negotiate, compromise, and even to disagree. Ultimately, it delegitimates democracy.

Filled with vivid examples, A Lot of People Are Saying diagnoses a defining and disorienting feature of today's politics and offers a guide to responding to the threat.

Previous page
  1. Reading age
    1 year and up
  2. Print length
    232 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Dimensions
    5.7 x 1 x 8.6 inches
  5. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  6. Publication date
    April 16, 2019
  7. ISBN-10
    0691188831
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0691188836
  9. See all details
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From the Publisher

conspiracy theories; politics;trump;alt-right;

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the Financial Times' Summer Books of 2019: Politics"

"[Muirhead and Rosenblum] are convincing in their argument that there is something different afoot in the world of conspiracy and that danger lies ahead if we don't confront it with truth and action." ― Kirkus

"Muirhead and Rosenblum have pointed out something genuinely new and disturbing, but in an appropriately careful, levelheaded way. Just one of many reasons this is a book worth reading, even if it doesn’t make for a particularly happy story. . . . I’d recommend it to anyone disturbed by what’s going on."---Jesse Singal, New York Magazine's Intelligencer

"Timely and insightful . . . . A tremendous contribution . . . . It identifies and names a new style of political discourse and clarifies the danger it poses . . . . At a time when so much attention focuses on Trump’s formal abuses of power, A Lot of People Are Saying shines an illuminating spotlight on the even more destructive power of his words, and the wild eddies of unreason they unleash."---Lee Drutman, Washington Monthly

"[The authors] insist that there is a meaningful difference between believing in a conspiracy theory and committing conspiracism, without any theory at all."---Jill Lepore, Times Literary Supplement

"Both terrifying and hopeful ― and maybe the best book I’ve read recently on the rise of conspiratorial thinking in the Trump era. (The section on “enacting democracy” is vital)." ― Carlos Lozada on Twitter

"There’s this book, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot because it does capture something essential about how we respond in these moments."---Jon Lovett, Pod Save America

Review

"If there is one industry that has increased its productivity in recent years, it is the manufacture and marketing of conspiracies. Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum brilliantly analyze how this happened and why it is a problem for our democracy―and also our capacity to build and sustain community. A Lot of People Are Saying offers a bracing diagnosis and thoughtful remedies. It's time, they insist, to speak truth to conspiracy."―E. J. Dionne Jr., coauthor of One Nation After Trump

"This is a groundbreaking book that should define the current era of presidential malfeasance. With rigorous argumentation and excellent examples, it shows why Trump's words, as well as his actions, threaten American democracy."―Corey Brettschneider, author of The Oath and the Office: A Guide to the Constitution for Future Presidents

"In A Lot of People Are Saying, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum, two first-rate democratic theorists, argue that 'conspiracy thinking,' long a staple of American political discourse, has risen to new heights with the ascendancy of Donald Trump, endangering the pluralism at the heart of liberal democracy. Their book comes none too soon, and I highly recommend it."―Jeffrey C. Isaac, author of #AgainstTrump: Notes from Year One

"Muirhead and Rosenblum have written the defining account of the stakes in the battle over misinformation and fake news in Western democracies. 'The new conspiracism' they identify does not simply distract and mislead us. As they convincingly argue, this style of discourse undermines the legitimacy of democratic government, the institutions we depend on to create knowledge about the world, and ultimately our shared understanding of reality itself. We ignore their warnings at our peril."―Brendan Nyhan, University of Michigan

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press (April 16, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691188831
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691188836
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 1 year and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.7 x 1 x 8.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 230 ratings

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Nancy L. Rosenblum

Nancy L. Rosenblum

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
230 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mannie Liscum
5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing, timely, important
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2019
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“A Lot of People Ae Saying” is an excellent, i if deeply disturbing book. Authors, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum, political science professors at Dartmouth and Harvard, respectively, have done citizens of our fragile democracy willing to read this book a great service. They tackle a phenomenon that has caused this reviewer no end of frustration, angst, and frankly intellectual trauma over the past few years. The authors have dubbed this phenomenon ‘new conspiracism.’ In contrast to traditional conspiracy theories, with which we are all familiar, ‘new conspiracism’ has no ‘theory;’ it does not require evidence nor seek explanation. ‘New conspiracism’ rests solely on simple assertion, and is validated not by proofs, but by blind acceptance and repetition. There is no need, nor desire, to build a series theoretical of connecting dots (evidence) to form the conspiracy (bald assertion), it is built out of ether. The assertion alone is sufficient ‘proof’ for the assertion, and it isn’t meant to provide an explanation of misdeeds to be corrected. While traditional conspiracy theories can be ‘crazy,’ we all know some reflect reality and provide true clarity. ‘New conspiracism’ need not have any - and in fact usually doesn’t - basis in reality. As such, the sole purpose of these latter conspiracies is to delegitimize a particular target and to disorient the public. ‘New conspiracism’ is meant to replace reality with an alternative one constructed out of whole cloth; to replace our ‘common sense’ of the world with the new conspiracists alternative constructed reality. And the greatest new conspiracist of all, the Conspiracist-in-Chief, is our 45th President, Donald J. Trump. As an empirical experimental scientist who prizes the constraints of evidence and reality above all else, no wonder this reviewer has felt disoriented and off balance since the rise of Trump and Trumpism.

Muirhead and Rosenblum expertly boil down the differences between traditional conspiracy theory and ‘new conspiracism;’ show how ‘new conspiracism’ works, how it is used, by who and why many in our society are especially prone to it; how our President has made ‘new conspiracism’ his go-to approach to consolidate and maintain power; how ‘new conspiracism’ delegitimizes our democracy and disorients our citizens; and finally how we, who live in the real world, can combat ‘new conspiracism’ and its destructive influences on our now fragile democracy. This is all done without hysteria (though the topic is disturbing and somewhat depressing) or hype, and in less than 200 pages of formal text (sans notes). This reviewer feels forever changed intellectually after reading “A Lot of People are Saying;” I am now more prepared to see and combat the constructed dystopian reality our Conspiracist-in-Chief and his followers wish us all to adopt. I can not recommend this book highly enough. Can we give 6 stars?!!
33 people found this helpful
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Randolph Eck
5.0 out of 5 stars A dangerous form of conspiracism
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2019
Verified Purchase
The author’s intent in writing this book was to offer an account to those who are confused and disturbed by what they call a malignant phenomenon that distorts public life and endangers us all. It’s called the new conspiracism. We have had conspiracy theories around for a long, long time, so what’s new? Well, the new conspiracism is conspiracy without the theory. It has a new destructive impulse - to delegitimate democracy. Classic conspiracism tries to make sense of the world, which is disorderly and complicated. It usually involves powerful people controlling things. It tries to make order out of that which defies standard or official explanation. But the new conspiracism dispenses with the burden of explanation. So we have innuendo and verbal gesture or “a lot of people are saying.” It is not evidence, but repetition that validates. One example would be “the elections are rigged.”

These new conspiracists have two targets in mind. First, are the political parties or partisans, and second, are knowledge-producing institutions like the free press, university, and expert communities within government. This new conspiracism appears to be primarily predominant on the ideological right. In the case of knowledge we see a weakening of the “legitimacy of sources of knowledge and their role in regular processes of legislation and administration.” According to the author, it is “the pure face of negativity. Delegitimation is its product.” This is important, because delegitimation “poses a unique threat to democracy: it rejects the meaning, value, and authority of democratic practices, institutions, and officials.” Normally an alternative political ideology, such as communism, authoritarianism, theism, fascism will delegitimate democracy. But Rosenblum notes that “Angry, sterile conspiracism does the work.” Two responses are identified as important to this conspiracism. Speaking truth to conspiracy and what is called “enacting democracy,” which means the scrupulous adherence to the forms and processes of public decision-making – a “deliberate pedagogical response to the process of delegitimation.”

It is important to note that these conspiracists are not trying to transform democracy into something else, be it authoritarianism or whatever. There simply is no coherent constructive political outcome. It is just destructive and politically sterile. For example, in the case of Trump, he is not interested in the architecture of an organized political party or movement, but simply “a throng that assents to his account of reality.” For the classic conspiracist, the internet is a source of connecting dots. It is information that fills in the narrative or that confirms their explanation of events. The new conspiracist directs all energy as repetition and affirmation. We spoke of the concept of delegitimatization. The author now defines legitimacy for us. It has two senses, philosophic and sociological. The former asks what kind of regime is worthy of support, while the latter asks whether the citizens view the political order as worthy of support. An example of delegitimation is given for us: “a cabal within the FBI and Department of Justice was attempting to bring the president down.” This conspiracism with it artificial crisis offers angry minds immediate gratification – the equivalent of throwing verbal stones. Another dangerous effect is disorientation. One thing that enables this kind of thing is the current broadcast technology that allows anyone to disseminate whatever they want without any intermediary and at no cost.

This kind of conspiracy works because one doesn’t have to be certain a belief is entirely false – it might be true, but that’s true enough. This gives conspiracism the power to delegitimate. What is scary is something referred as “malignant normality.” This is where people become accommodated to distorted processes and inverted purposes. In other words, they make the malignant normal. This advances the momentum of delegitimation. In chapters four and five, the author takes a deep plunge into conspiracist delegitimation. The author now presents us with more information on the process of delegitimation. This involves attacks on opposition candidates and their party as a whole. This is not just simple opposition, but viewing the opposition as a dangerous enemy not only to be defeated electorally but neutralized. The unfortunate consequence is “delegitimation of the defining institution of democracy and our system of representation.” The author sees this conspiracist delegitimation aligned, in the more immediate near term, with radical conservatism. This is referred to as the “partisan penumbra.” Chapter five concentrates on the delegitimation of authoritatively produced facts – on knowledge. Examples would be vaccination and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This rejection of simple facts, knowledge-producing institutions, and the free press has the effect of degrading democracy unfortunately.

In chapter six, we get more detail on the experience of disorientation. This delegitimation of the process of creating, assessing, and correcting the universe of facts leads to disorientation. This is the result of people being confronted with a steady stream of ungrounded conspiracist claims. We then experience a special form of anxiety, a contest over who owns reality. Could this spreading epistemic gap lead to an end to politics? The final section discusses defending democracy. There needs to be a speaking of truth to conspiracy and a stanching of the delegitimation of democracy. Unfortunately, there are few responsible officeholders doing this. Some even affirm conspiracist claims themselves. This new conspiracism seems most evident in the United States, but the author fears its spread to other countries. He sees a need to “enact democracy,” that is, “a strenuous adherence to the regular processes and forms of public decision-making. Democracy is enacted when officials explicitly draw attention to the importance of adhering to these forms and practices.” A sobering question: will future generation care about democracy itself?
75 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Kristina Borkertaite
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
It’s teach us to understand today’s reality and we need to use our common sense.
Brilliant read
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Hagai Leal
2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting idea, shallow presentation of empirical evidence
Reviewed in Germany on April 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
The subject is interesting but the authors present scarce empirical evidence and focus on their "philosophical" plea for a kind of nerdy, grass-roots democratic engagement in such a way, that about the last third of the book sounds like a very very long speech by a protestant pastor.
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Teunis
5.0 out of 5 stars This book opens up thought
Reviewed in Australia on April 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
It is scary where some of this conspiracy stuff is heading. This book gives good background on the processes behind it.
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