Postmodernism as a broad intellectual, social, and literary movement is difficult to capture and define, not least because of the deliberate wishes of some of its protagonists that the paradigm remain enigmatic. Since many postmodernists question the practice and extension of meta and universal theories based on “truth” frameworks, there are obvious overlaps between postmodernism, philosophy, and the social sciences. This is in terms of both the topics of knowledge and the products of research and literature. For postmodernism, the role, use, and application of theory are not only central to epistemological questions, but have fundamental consequences for conceptions of reality.

One completely overlooked area is the relationship between conspiracy theory and postmodernism. A tenet of postmodernism, as the name directly suggests, is that the analysis of knowledge, society, and ontology requires a framework that goes beyond the universal rationalism espoused by the Enlightenment period. The Enlightenment bore the birthmark of Modernity but is now dead. Therefore, we require a postmodern theory to break the shackles of the Modern period. For the sake of brevity, this often implies contextual sensitivity and relativism as opposed to universalism and absolute truth.

Although conspiracy theories have always been present throughout history, the genesis of modern conspiracy phenomena is considered to be that of JFK. This saw the start of a meta-conspiracy theory in which political phenomena were not what they seemed. Behind what appears to be the establishment is a ruling elite, an organization of individuals who act as puppeteers; the real elite behind the masked elite.

This undoubtedly gave rise, in the last forty years, to Meta conspiracy theories encompassing the Illuminati, the Bilderberg Group, the Freemasons and the New World Order. He then began propagating historical ongoing conspiracy theories from Meta. For example, the New World Order or the Illuminati not only control all facets of political, economic and social activity, but this plot has been deliberately designed and executed throughout history. This shifts the dimension of modern conspiracy theory from being just meta-causal to being historically encapsulating. This gave way to new questions, not just about current affairs, but about the nature and validity of history itself.

The foregoing illustrates one aspect of modern conspiracy theories embedded in the postmodern tradition. For contemporary conspiracy theorists, we now require a philosophy and conceptual framework that surpasses the proposals of liberalism and representative government of the Enlightenment period. This is because in the world of conspiracy theorists, the latest paradigms are patently fallacious. Therefore, we need new theories to analyze incidents like JFK, the Iraq war, 9/11, and observable inequalities in wealth and living standards. For the conspiracy whistleblower, the old political ideologies and theories of government, society, and civil interaction are inept. Instead, the conspiracy theory serves as a better explanation for the postmodern world.

It is these arguments put forward by conspiracy theorists to accommodate the postmodern political world that, paradoxically, has its roots in the postmodernist tradition. Certain aspects of postmodernism imply a renewed romanticism, the void left by the insufficient affirmation of universal truth and knowledge being filled with an epistemological trend of “anything goes”. In a postmodern world where scientific claims to “true knowledge” are questioned and simply labeled as social constructionism, it is the social process and practices of institutions such as universities and scientists that perpetuate science as “truth”; the discourse of science for some postmodernists is shelved under oppressive regimes that perpetuate universal truth.

Instead, Jacques Derrida’s notorious Theory of Deconstruction comes vividly to life in the sense that not only is any subject matter open to interpretation, but the possibilities for interpretation are endless. In today’s world we see conspiracy theorists operating within this framework. Distrust of scientific facts and the agents of established social institutions, especially those who endorse the official version of 9/11, is combined with the ability and license to observe phenomena such as 9/11, the Iraq war, JFK and the banking crisis and interpret them. in any way possible. In fact, this is incredibly important to conspiracy theorists. Deconstruction Theory rings true in the sense that the Conspiracy Theory narrative is applicable to any phenomenon imaginable. Postmodernists scream that any phenomenon is open to infinite alternative explanations and conspiracy theorists sixteen at chance.

Ironically, under the postmodernist tradition, conspiracy theory falls victim to its own claim and purchase of “truth” through its own self-created discourse. By dismissing the “truth” put forth by the established institutions, conspiracy theorists explain their own version of the “truth.” However, both opposing factions are discourses and the conspiracy theory mirrors the liberal government narrative but with its own “truth” formation.

Postmodernism under Foucault and Derrida uttered prophetic phrases such as “discourses forms the objects they speak of” and thus instead of “truth” remaining outside of narratives and discourses, the separation is not possible since the discourses themselves form “truth” and “reality.” circular and intertwined.

This is precisely what the Conspiracy Theory discourse does by proposing the “truth” behind social and political phenomena. For example, the movement called the 911 “Truth” Movement. By rejecting the modern explanation of social and political phenomena, by employing an open interpretation that does not require reference to established scientific facts, and by creating a discourse that forms “truth” and thus a notion of “reality”, the phenomena Modern conspiracies find their foundations in postmodernism. .