One can have a field day following conspiratorial thought to its logical conclusion and trying to avoid deception. As of late, that would include but not be limited to:
- The conservative party’s main purpose in any country is to keep the status quo of rich white men under the guise of morality by appealing to fear, pessimism, and anxiety. This is very apparent by their default rhetoric, which is also found in the far left but a lot less prevalent in the mainstream. With those feelings gone, there’s no reason to be scared of progress. Any talk of red or blue pills is nonsense. Skepticism is encouraged though; neo-reactionary types like Mencius Moldbug do have a point though about the proliferation of progressive thought in the media as a way for them to stay in power. That doesn’t necessarily doom society, though.
- The 4 year music degree track (there is a spectrum of people that would extend this as far as “any degree”) is a pyramid scheme that in many instances is “pay to play” (choir tours, drum corps). Nobody actually gets finished in that short a time (false promises) and the only way to make stable money is to teach and aid in the recruitment of other people. Granted, this last point is a major stretch; kids’ lives are only made better by having basic musical proficiency. That being said, there is always a sense of teachers lobbying and proving themselves useful in the eyes of the public, leading to a democratization of the arts. Without public school music classes, students would probably start learning music in high school with a community youth group, decide that musical ability is worth keeping around, and take a few community college courses on the side to solidify theory and get a sense of musicianship they could then impart as a volunteer in said community. This is the most R.O.I. one can get out of music, mainly by avoiding the money and years sunk into a 4 year college. And the burn out 🤭
- Organized religion is a cope for sociopaths, narcissists, and other pathologically obsessive personalities, as well as an avenue for them to abuse each other for money, control, or power. “Normal people” don’t go to church because they see right through this guise and have little to no desire to channel their emotional curiosity about the world into something liturgical. This does leave open the question of morality and its ultimate source, as well as the question of consciousness - both of which science is fundamentally unable to answer - leaving us with the compromise that if all major religions are equally arbitrary and share the same core tenants of morality (C.S. Lewis’s “The Abolition of Man”) we might as well adhere to the one we were given at birth and share a piece of our culture with our children while not quite taking everything at face value - much like the Japanese and their state religion (Shinto + Buddhism) - for the time being, at least.
First, a friendly reminder that these are hypothetical extensions of a train of thought, and don’t reflect the opinions of the author verbatim. Anyone in the habit of thinking will have had little hints of these three ideas ruminating in their minds. Taking the time to articulate them is worthwhile, primarily because they destroy most of what people rest their laurels on and leave them with questions where they used to have answers. Take social anxiety out of the equation and all of a sudden, rural simple living seems like a cope and a close minded renunciation of what one’s family and community has built them up for (not that they should take others’ word as gospel, of course). If it’s any consolation, there are still a few conspiracies worth subscribing to that provide some ground:
- The free market would much rather you be impulsive and emotional than rational and stoic because the impulsive person is more likely to remain inert and consistently consume product. TV, social media, pop culture/franchises, commercial news (anything commercial, actually), video games, and pornography all capitalize on each person’s individual propensity to attach onto certain thought patterns and to become willing to pay for more happiness or validation.
- Information has never been easier to access, but with that comes unwanted noise in the form of targeted algorithms in social media platforms. In parallel to this, the market for data is stronger than ever, incentivizing invasive and hidden data collection by companies. Open source software is the way to go for true liberty.
- Using drugs, either recreationally or legitimately, to cope with the stress of daily life is the norm. Most people choose to adapt themselves for their surroundings, but why not play around with the idea of adapting your environment to yourself instead? For the average reader of a blog like this - unable to sit still in a classroom, unable to care about homework/paper pushing - that might look like entering a highly technical, hands on trade that is always in demand (electricity, plumbing, carpentry) and that doesn’t require social capital, as well as lowering expenses as low as comfortably possible, which usually means settling down in a smaller, more isolated community with less amenities. The ideal is to rely on the market as little as possible to maintain homeostasis - medicationless. Most people are very fortunate to be in a position where they can do mostly or completely that, but to be fair, others on antipsycotic or antiseizure medication, for example, were simply dealt a bad hand and cannot be looked down upon for opting to be around strong support systems (cities, healthcare). And of course, the existence of alcoholics in both the biggest cities and even the smallest boondocks disproves that this is solely an urbanization issue.
In case this article hasn’t been bipolar enough, there’s always the chance of obsessing over money unhealthily and of having that fear prevent you from taking the necessary risks in life. And in the first place, why should self-independence be your ultimate goal? How do you discern such a calling?
For what it’s worth, the use of the phrase “conspiratorial thinking” isn’t conventional, but rather a shorthand for “adaptation by an entity to take advantage of multiple outcomes” as per Nassim Taleb or Luke Smith. No person or organization can be blamed as being inherently immoral (Marcus Aurelius - “Meditations”), but rather it is our duty to discern what is good for ourselves and for society at large and act accordingly.