Conspiracies and Chaos

I recently saw this comment in the NYT: “The fault in the conspiracy theories is the assumption that the world isn’t chaotic but highly organized.” I agree. People who believe in vast, apocalyptic conspiracies (e.g. RFK, Jr. and his devotees) all seem to be invested in the dubious but comforting notion that “it all makes sense,” that the universe (and human civilization) have been set up by some great mastermind who has a plan (you know, the “arc of history or the moral universe”) and that various nefarious “conspiracies”—all carefully orchestrated and coordinated amongst themselves—have been erected by diabolic forces opposed to this beneficent master plan. 

In my view, that’s rubbish. Granted, there are apparently some universal laws that apply to the material world (though no one seems to know by whom or for what “reason” they were thus established). But in the moral and social context of human interaction, that just ain’t the case. Plots and conspiracies spring up, succeed or are thwarted, but I see no evidence that there’s a supreme Wizard—or, frankly, anyone at all—in charge of much of anything, especially ultimate outcomes. So, no, it doesn’t “all make sense.” Rather, it seems to me that life’s messiness is an inherent element of the universal (and nonsensical) chaos through which we must navigate using our very, VERY limited faculties.

It’s true of course, that we CAN act—within certain circumscribed limits—to oppose individual plots whose means and ends are identifiable and which we judge dangerous to the general welfare. But the measures we take must be carefully tailored to unravel the specific plot’s very specific  weave.There is no one-size-fits-all solution that can somehow “restore” the perfection of a desired but non-existent master plan.

 In short, RFK’s magical formula to “Reclaim Our Democracy” amounts to little more than a variation of Trump’s MAGA scheme—slightly retooled for chimerical Democrats, but equally vacuous and equally delusional. Because, let’s face it, if there is no grand plan to be “saved” (and there isn’t), then “saviors” like Trump and RFK are either charlatans and/or raving nutters—false prophets peddling snake-oil salvation to a credulous populace.

No, the chaos portrayed above by Hieronymous Bosch will undoubtedly persist. Paradise IS lost. (Say, is that a nun inside a fish? Woah!)