Qanon, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Meaning

QAnon, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Meaning diagnoses a particular social challenge facing Americans in the 21st century: the rise and spread of dangerous conspiracy theories across the internet.

Rather than dismiss such theories as the product of delusions, this book argues that the true conspiracy these theorists are trying to uncover is really located in a critique of neoliberal capitalism, austerity, and economic precarity. The authors contextualize QAnon as a misguided response to larger economic conditions endemic to late capitalism. Such a scholarly approach provides unique insight into some of the salient factors that make conspiracy theories such as QAnon so popular at a time of unprecedented information literacy. In their assessment, fighting conspiracy theories thus requires a radical realignment of the social, political, and economic priorities of the United States.