In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries declared “post-truth” its word of the year. Since then, authorities have proclaimed everything that disagrees with neo-liberalism “misinformation”. Authorities mistrust John Q. Public, deeming him a “conspiracy theorist” too dangerous to tolerate in an open society—and the feeling is mutual.

Much analysis has been done on the psychology of the conspiracy theorist, but little on what psychologist Josh Neal calls suspicion culture, the generally suspicious mass society. In Understanding Conspiracy Theories, Neal provides a robust account of suspicion culture.

In this groundbreaking work, we find the true danger of conspiracy theory. Conspiracies can develop into a folk account of history which deflates the cult of expertise, and eventually the legitimacy of the sovereign centre. Suspicion of official narratives must be stamped out at all costs, giving rise to totalitarianism. In place of our current-year dystopia, Neal offers a secure basis for pluralism over the liberal police state.

This book helps us not only understand conspiracy theories, but the true nature of liberalism, and what to do about it.