If people are inclined to believe in things not supported by evidence, they are more likely to be susceptible to the lies of politicians. Disinformation, such as the spread of conspiracy theories to spread distrust among citizens, is a tool widely and effectively used by Russia and China.
It is not just conspiracy theories, however, which are plaguing humankind, but a return of an unscientific way of thinking which enlightenment hoped to eradicate. Populists and autocrats use this, and their regimes are intertwined with this phenomenon, which might be thought of as a form of ‘magical thinking.’
In a village in Hungary, a small crowd is queuing up, despite the November cold. They can choose from an assortment of health and other services, such as crystal healing and healing with fairies and card reading. This obvious crockery might be dismissed as the esoteric delusion of a few people if it were not supported by the Hungarian state.
Hungary is not a standalone example. In Russia, magical practices, such as purported mind-reading, are influencing policy. Romanian elections last year were strewn with esoteric beliefs spewing from populist candidate Călin Georgescu, who propagates conspiracy theories and anti-vaccination beliefs.
It is no wonder Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán encourages esoteric practices. In Hungary, 72% of respondents to a poll believe there are secret organizations influencing politics. 62% believe Ukranians committed genocide against their Russian minority, while 57% believe migrants are replacing Europeans by design. These proportions are the highest among the surveyed countries of Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia.
The Hungarian PM speaks of economic successes despite the dismal situation here in Hungary. He speaks of the triumphs Hungary achieved during COVID-19, when in fact, Hungary had one of the worst death rates.
It requires magical thinking to blindly believe these false claims. Yet Orbán is not the only one relying on magical thinking for support. Anne Applebaum recently wrote an article for the Atlantic examining the phenomenon. She came to the conclusion that the established dichotomy of left-wing versus right-wing political stances is over. Now, there is essentially magic versus the enlightened. She calls the ideology based on the former ‘New Obscurantism.’
Those who support the ideas of the Enlightenment, science, critical thinking, and liberal democracies should set their differences aside and recognize the emergence of a new opponent. There are already alliances in the US moving in this direction, where the MAGA movement raised fears of a new order breaking with the unwritten rules of enlightenment politics. In the EU, esoteric thinking is not only manifest in the ideas and actions of both far-left and far-right politicians but in green populists, too. Europe would benefit from a new Enlightenment combatting the rising populists of New Obscurantism.
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