Misinformation, Ideology and Capitalism

Abstract

The general orthodox explanation for misinformation in American politics stalls because it fails to fully appreciate history and ideology. Instead, because American modernity is characterized by contradictions between its basic social forms this creates a bind for rulers. These contradictions mean that their rule is never stable, while acknowledging the contradictions risks courting advocacy that they be addressed which also threatens their minority rule. Due to the imperative to reconcile or mystify these contradictions, social problems are treated as anomalies or otherwise externalized; they can never be features of the capitalist political economy. Misinformation is a common by-product of this externalization as the capitalist ruling class uses it to weld together pacts and alliances that preserve the social hierarchy. To illustrate this argument, I draw upon examples from Reconstruction and Red Scares to argue that the same basic phenomenon is occurring in Russisgate.