Conspiracy and aimless faith

17 Jul, 2025

There's an infamous conspiracy poster that I'm sure everyone has seen in their weird uncle's basement. It reads "I want to believe" in big bold text, below a blurry picture of a UFO. The surrounding woods and off tilt angle give reason for the poor photography. This image exists despite photography, in fact, the photo itself doesn't matter. It's unrelated to the true subject of the poster. This subject does not require photo evidence, belief isn't important to this world view, what matters is merely the desire to believe. So, what is this subject?

This incredibly weird, vivid quote to me. It comes from a place of clarity I wouldn't expect from someone who would make a UFO poster. It really say's the quiet part out loud. The act of believing it framed as a virtue that exists despite truth. It's almost like the religious virtue of faith, faith as a quantitative product of will. The difference is the direction of the faith doesn't matter. As the famous Buddhist quote goes, religion is the "finger pointing to the moon."¹ Here the subject still cleanly lies upon the moon, and the distance between us and the moon. This is belief. Wanting to believe, however is the finger pointing at the finger. It's the act of pointing, it doesn't matter what the subject is. This is why it is perfect for the former religious mind. Karl Popper said, "the conspiracy theory of society comes from abandoning God and then asking: 'Who is in his place?'" ² The skeptic voices their complains and the conspiracist replies: "yes, yes. I know. But you aren't getting the point. Nothing causes my belief. To me, things start with belief and move upward."

The poster is associated with the X-Files. It’s a phrase from a character named Mulder. This character's motivation is finding his lost sister who was taken by aliens or something. I haven't seen the show. I bring this up to point out how much of an aesthetic thing this is. Mulder’s obsessive research will lead to a worthwhile goal, this is why he wants to believe. What then is the motivation for someone in real life?

When the conspiracy theorist finds the hidden CIA cameras, busts down the door of a hidden attic, and finds his entire life being controlled from a terminal, he is not filled with fear. His worst nightmare has not come true. In fact, it’s the opposite! He is filled with relief! He was right! He wasn’t crazy. ³ Like everything, the conspiracy tells a story. The best story gets the most believers. Those with a distrust of the government will talk about Pizzagate. The fascist, begging for a reason to hate, will believe in the great replacement, or that immigrants are eating dogs. As Natalie Wynn points out, "(conspiracy) is pre-modern thought applied to postmodern politics."

My final point is that although these theories vary greatly in their intent and material effect, the reasoning behind them is the exact same. If you are willing to believe, it doesn't matter what is true. Your desire will be fulfilled by the best story teller. Is it any wonder that such a chunk of the hippie movement swung totally back to the right? Is it really surprising that the "just asking questions" mentality of Russel Brand and Joe Rogan lead them slowly and surely into alt-right nonsense? ^{4 5}

Links

Natalie Wynn (Contrapoints) has an amazing video on Conspiracy theorists. You can watch it here

Footnotes