Conspiracy theory: Lacanian dynamics and mythic closure

Abstract

This paper examines the ontological and socio-political function of conspiracy theories through a Lacanian psychoanalytic lens, drawing on Alenka Zupančič's recent work. Four core arguments structure the analysis. First, conspiracy theories operate through a distinct ontology characterized by the Lacanian dimensions of the big Other, surplus enjoyment (jouissance), and the death drive–where the fantasy of a controlling Agent sustains both meaning and libidinal investment. Second, their interpretive logic inverts conventional epistemology: interpretation becomes an end in itself, a self-perpetuating circuit that mirrors the death drive's repetitive satisfaction. Third, far from marginal, conspiracy theories increasingly supplement mainstream politics, filling out gaps in its discourse vis-à-vis basic socio-economic deadlocks. Fourth, modern conspiracy theories are symptomatic of a contemporary mythic closure–an unconscious acceptance of capitalist infinitude–reproduced through paradigmatic forms of reflexive disavowal rooted in a fetishization of knowledge. By analyzing prominent conspiracy theories, the phenomenon of the ‘conspiracy singularity’, and Susan Strange’s concept of Westfailure, this paper demonstrates how conspiracy theories refract the ambient madness of late capitalism: its false rationalism and systemic delusion.