No Logos: QAnon, neoliberalism and the explanatory vacuum
Logoi
Humans are programmed to seek explanations that help them to understand and act within the world. Stable and functioning societies rely upon a logos (λόγος) — a term, used because it contains a desired degree of nebulousness (as demonstrated by the various ways in which it has been applied in philosophical writings), which here is intended to represent any given society’s set of organising principles that rest upon a shared knowledge base; essentially the premise upon which we understand, and act within, the world.
This logos, as the basis of a stable and functioning society, will necessarily be hegemonic, internally coherent and serve to perpetuate the human artifice — our society, structures and norms etc. — so that it appears to be woven into the fabric of reality itself. Consequently, and to reiterate the essential point, the logos provides a foundation for a shared explanatory schema which enables institutions and individuals to understand, and act within, the world in a way that is relevant, coherent and effective.
A critical juncture is reached when the logos of a given society no longer serves the purposes outlined above. Of course, this is never an isolated or randomly occurring event. Certainly, in the modern world, the logos of societies (particularly Western societies, which is the focus here) is closely tied to the material conditions of the mode of economic production, or, more generally, the manner of societal and economic organisation. As the nature of these underlying conditions change so must the logos adapt; this is crucial to the durability and stability of any society.
However, it is more difficult, costly and unnatural for a logos to adapt than it is for the mode of economic production to evolve. The laws of capitalism, to which our modern societies are unavoidably subject to, inevitably give rise to upheavals and crises. These occur with a frequency and severity that corresponds to the degree to which society permits the laws of capitalism to operate free from regulations and controls which are implemented to ameliorate their worst effects.
In light of this, the recent rise to prominence of conspiracy theories can be viewed as a direct result of the tremendous upheavals caused by the failure of neoliberalism and the concomitant failure of the neoliberal logos. While the economic system has been put on life support by the global elite which it serves, the logos can receive no such treatment and has suffered such fatal damage that it is evidently crumbling away. This in itself would constitute a critical juncture for our global society, but we must add on top of this the seminal issues with which humanity is currently confronted, of which climate change is patently the most consequential.
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The Neoliberal Logos
Neoliberalism is not a disinterested recipe aimed simply at bringing about defined improvements — for example, introducing greater efficiency into the public sector. Its principal success goes beyond the conquest of a merely formal realm affecting tightly circumscribed elements of society with a limited set of consequences that are mostly quantifiable. Over and above this, it infused society with its own logos that became hegemonic, dominating society, culture and thinking in myriad ways. Its assumptions, concepts and conclusions are largely accepted and have been assimilated into the worldview of states, institutions and individuals.
It lays claim to a reductively Hobbesian view of the natural state of inter-human relations as base, destructive and conflictual, stemming from the supposedly selfish, uncaring and materialistic nature of individuals. This is used to justify organising society in a manner that accounts for and harnesses this ‘nature’, giving us the familiar stories about the benefits of the free market, the necessity of competition and the veneration of self-interest. It is simplistic and effective in serving the interests of capital upon whose behalf it was advanced.
In reality, like many accounts of human nature, it works backwards from its desired ends to construct a suitable account of human nature to serve these ends. But its success has been in convincing us that the opposite is true. That its account of human nature is a universal truth, making neoliberalism close to a necessity because it is the system which best accounts for, and harnesses the power of, this ‘truth’. A similar process has taken place in the material realm; if you deliberately create a set of social and economic structures and institutions that both promote and claim to stem from an underlying ‘nature’, you will invariably end up producing that very nature which is claimed to exist independently. Therefore, the neoliberal logos is strongly self-perpetuating and, as such, has become deeply embedded within society, the economy and individuals.
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Winds of Change
Under capitalism, things speed up. Capital is continually forced to seek efficiencies in the spheres of production, circulation and finance in its drive to augment itself. This manifests inter alia in an increasing rate and of change, particularly technological change. Severe changes cause revolutionary transformations in material conditions of production, which are in turn a source of societal upheavals.
Therefore, as the rate of change increases so the frequency of societal upheavals also rises. Capitalism does not posses a moral philosophy that might control and direct the unpredictable forces of change in order to broadly distribute their positive effects and ameliorate their worst outcomes. Instead change is often destructive; for example, the mass deindustrialisation and associated job losses suffered in many regions across the developed world which have impoverished large populations.
The key point is that the rate of change within society grows exponentially, especially under less restrained forms of capitalism (of which neoliberalism is one). Processes of change which previously took lifetimes now take years. The world is a faster and better-connected place, but, also, a more unpredictable and complex place. Consequently, events can seem increasingly contigent and unmanageable.
The human artifice — our society, structures and norms etc. — which provide us with structure and meaning in contrast to, in defiance of, and partly as a bulwark against, the inevitably highly contingent nature of reality and human action is straining under the weight of this increasingly complex and unmanageable world.
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The Failure of the Neoliberal Logos
On top of this heady mix of reactants we have the catalytic effect of the conjoined failures of neoliberalism; firstly, its failure as an actually existing mode of societal and economic organisation and, consequently, its failure as the dominant explanatory schema in society, our hegemonic logos. To detail these failures is not within the scope of this piece. Suffice to say the post-2008 world looks very different to the one that existed in the preceding decades.
Despite the more than decade-long efforts of the global elite to preserve neoliberalism as an economic system by putting it on life support, the logos can receive no such treatment. The neoliberal concepts and stories (see, for example, ‘trickle down’ economics) so evidently fail to align with reality, to the extent that they are fatally damaged.
When society lost its logos, the rug was yanked from beneath us. Our lack of a shared, viable framework to understand, and act within, the world has contributed greatly to the social and political upheavals which have occurred over the past decade. Add to this the fact that, as a strain of unfettered capitalism, neoliberalism brings about a relatively faster increase in the rate of motion of capital which occasions more frequent and impactful upheavals, and we find that, for many, life is highly unstable, unpredictable and, often, also inexplicable.
Within this whirlwind of instability, the human artifice creaks ever more precariously. Its bedrock — our way of understanding, explaining, controlling and, sometimes, denying reality — has crumbled just when we needed it most. A vacuum has opened where our logos once existed. Instability, inequality and the associated feelings of powerlessness experienced by many do not occasion the painless birth of a new society with an improved and more suitable logos fit for solving our most pressing issues.
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The Rise of Conspiracy Theories
As we grope around in the dark seeking the safety of the reassuringly familiar, the cloaked figure of conspiracy is a comfort to many. There is comfort and relief in its simplistic tangibility and a sense of familiarity in its tropes. It appears as an island of tranquillity at the centre of a world in flux, providing its inhabitants with a unique position of omniscience which can quickly mutate into a flame of righteous anger that is easily fanned and manipulated by agents of chaos.
Today’s most potent iteration is the QAnon / Pizzagate conspiracy which has many threads, but, at heart, contends that Donald Trump is engaged in a secret struggle to save the world from a paedophilic cult of Satan-worshipping Democrats, celebrities and billionaires who currently control world events. It is strongly reminiscent of the antisemitic ‘Jewish world government’ and blood libel conspiracy theories which have existed in various forms for centuries, even millennia. Having emerged from the murky incubator of the internet’s darker corners it has grown to extend its influence as far as the studio lights of Presidential press conferences, where Donald Trump has cultivated the support of QAnon adherents. In the upcoming US presidential election, Media Matters found that 81 candidates for congressional seats have indicated support for QAnon.
In connection with this and in order to understand it in historical terms, it is important to recognise that the QAnon conspiracy has mutated into a ‘movement’, in that it has shown itself capable of mobilising people to take action in the real world. The FBI has identified QAnon as a potential domestic terror threat; on December 19, 2018 a man was arrested with bomb-making materials in his car, which he intended to use to “blow up a satanic temple monument” in the Springfield, Illinois Capitol rotunda in order to “make Americans aware of Pizzagate and the New World Order, who were dismantling society”. As the central hero of the QAnon narrative, Trump wields a particularly strong influence over believers and there are worries that QAnon-linked US militias could violently oppose the upcoming election result should Trump to lose to Joe Biden. Although it is a US-centric conspiracy, QAnon has also spread to Europe and Latin America, often merging into local far right narratives and movements and weaving itself in among other popular conspiracies.
In some respects, the coronavirus pandemic has provided us with a gauge as to how easily conspiracy theories can now take hold. It is likely that most of the population have at least heard of the baseless beliefs associated with coronavirus including that the virus was manufactured, lockdowns are tools of government oppression, or that masks cause sickness. There have been several demonstrations in cities around the world connected with these theories. This is to say nothing of 5G conspiracy theories.
The point is that the growing power of conspiracy theories is the counterweight to the failure of the dominant explanatory schema. The threads holding us together will continue to fray the longer we lack a coherent, useful, shared knowledge base which provides a framework to help us understand our surroundings and solve the problems that confront us. It is the reactionaries, strongmen and dictators who harness, manipulate and benefit from conspiracy theories and the fragmented nature of our societies that will continue to prosper under these conditions.
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Historical Precedent
History shows us that there is no natural end or conclusion that halts the conditions and forces discussed above. Historically, the most egregious example is that of the Nazi Party which combined and exploited elements of scientific racism, the ethno-nationalist, antiparliamentarian pan-Slavic and pan-German movements, and antisemitism (which drew strongly upon the ‘Jewish world government’ conspiracy). The Nazis came closest in taking these forces towards their logical end in its attempt at global domination and the extermination of the Jewish population.
I do not use this example lazily, and nor should it be lazily dismissed. To paraphrase Marx, men make their own history, but not under conditions of their own choosing. The material conditions of the early 20th Century which facilitated the rise of Nazism are different to those of today, but this does not preclude taking heed of the aphorism, often erroneously attributed to Mark Twain, that “history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes”.
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A Way Forward
What this suggests is that there is a space for a new, strong and coherent logos to emerge accompanied, and partly facilitated by, a new mode of societal and economic organisation. It is also a necessity; the most profound issues facing humanity — climate change, worsening inequality, demographic trends — require us to be able to explain and solve these issues. Conspiracy theories cannot help us to effectively confront these issues, nor can they be the basis for a harmonious, well-functioning society in general.
It is the work of another piece to examine what this changed society should or might look like, how and from where it might emerge, and the barriers that stand in the way of achieving this. Suffice to say, that continued failure to grapple with the exigencies of the 21st Century will have fatal consequences for the human race.
