Central Europe Review - Sam Vaknin: The Elders of Zion
Vol 1, No 25
13 December 1999
A B A L K A N E N C O U N T E R:
The Elders of Zion
Sam Vaknin
I was shown the same book in Yugoslavia, in Macedonia and in Bulgaria - The
World Conspiracy - a shabby tome written by an ageing "scholar." The main,
unabashedly anti-Semitic, hypothesis (presented as undisputed fact) is that
the Jews rule the world supreme - always have, probably always will. Lists
of prominent Jews in the world of international finance are reprinted with
lists of influential Jews in the Soviet Communist regime. And it all amounts
to a well-organised, secretive machinery of illicit power, claims the author
with all the persuasion of a paranoid.
Yet, anti-Semitism is only one species in a zoo of rumours, conspiracy
theories and meta-histories. Superstitions, prejudices and calumny thrive in
the putrid soil of disinformation, misinformation and lack of information.
In the void created by unreliable, politicised and corrupt media - rumour
mills spring eternal.
It is a malignant growth, the outcome of a breakdown of trust so complete
that communication is rendered impossible. This is the main characteristic
of the East (from Russia to Albania): distrust. Citizens and politicians,
businessmen and government, the media and its consumers, manufacturers and
service providers, the sick and their doctors - all suspect each other of
ulterior motives and foul play. More often than not they are all quite right
to do so.
It is a Kafkaesque, sealed universe in which nothing is as it appears to be.
This acrimonious divorce between appearances and essence, facade and truth,
the Potemkin and the real - is a facet of daily life, of the most mundane
exchanges, of the most trivial pursuits. Motives are sought with increasing
urgency - why did he do it, what did he try to achieve, why had he not
chosen a different path, why here, why with us, why now, what can it teach
us. Information is frantically pursued, appearances discarded, data juggled,
heated debates ensue, versions erupt, only to subside and be replaced by
others. It is a feverish ritual, the sound of clashing exegeses, of theories
constructed and demolished in vacuo.
At the heart of it all, is the unbearable uncertainty of being. Political
uncertainty under Communism was replaced by economic uncertainty under the
insidious and venal form of capitalism that replaced it. Tucked in identical
cubicles, the citizens of planet Communism were at least assured of a make
belief job in a sprawling bureaucracy or in a decrepit factory,
manufacturing redundant documents or shoddy goods.
Subsistence was implicitly guaranteed by the kleptocracy that ruled them,
and, in principle, it was always possible to ignore the moral stench and
join the nomenklatura, thereby developing instant upward mobility.
Corruption, theft and graft were tolerated by the state as a means of
complementing income. Life was drab but safe as long as one abstained from
politics and subserviently consumed the bitter medicines of acquiescence and
collaboration. The vast majority (with the exception of the USSR under
Stalin) were not affected by the arbitrary capriciousness of history. They
decayed slowly in their housing estates, morally degenerate, possession-less
but certain of a future that was the spitting image of their past.
Under the spastic orgy of legalised robbery of state assets that passed for
privatisation, millions were made redundant while thousands enriched
themselves by choreographed looting. The results were instability,
unpredictability, uncertainty and fear.
In a world thus unhinged, the masses groped for reason, for a scheme, for a
method in the madness, for an explanation, however sinister and ominous.
Anything was preferable to the seemingly random natural forces unleashed
upon them with such apparent vengeance. Even a "World Government" (a
favourite), the Illuminati (a freemasonry-like movement but much more
odious), the Jews, the USA, aliens. The greatest conspiracy theory of them
all - the phoenix of religion - sprang back to life from the ashes it was
reduced to by Communism. A host of mystical beliefs, sects and cults
mushroomed noxiously in the humid shadows of irrationality.
Thus, every event, no matter how insignificant; any occurrence, no matter
how inconsequential; and any coincidence, no matter how coincidental -
assume heraldic meaning. People in these domains carry their complex jigsaw
puzzles with them. They welcome each new piece with the zeal of the
converted. They bellow triumphantly with every "proof" of their pet theory,
with every datum, with each rumour.
Things don't just happen - they whisper - things are directed from above,
ordained, regulated, prevented, or encouraged by "them." A group of 400 rule
the world. They are Jews, they are the Serb Mafia, or the Bulgarians - or
the Americans who plan to dominate (which obviously puts Kosovo in context).
They are the rich and powerful, the objects of envy and frightened
admiration, of virulent hate and rage. They are responsible. We pay the
price - we, the small and powerless and poor. And it is hopeless, it has
been like that forever. The disparity between them and us is too great.
Resistance is futile.
Why was this president elected? Surely, the West demanded it. Or political
parties conspired to rig the vote. Or rich businessmen supported him. What
is the real aim of foreign investors in coming to these godforsaken places,
if not to infiltrate and penetrate and establish their long term dominion?
And wouldn't it be safe to assume that all the foreigners are spies, that
all the Jews collaborate, that the neighbours would have liked to conquer
and to subjugate us, that the world is a colossal puppet show? In other
words, is it not true that we are puppets - victims - in a theatre not of
our making? They filter out that which does not conform to their persuasion,
does not accord with their suspicions and does not fit within their schemes.
This deferral of responsibility brings relief from shame and blame. Guilt is
allayed by symbolically and ritually passing it onto another. Fear is
quelled by the introduction of schemata. These are potent psychological
incentives. They provide structure to the amorphous, bring order to the
chaos that is the brave, new world of the economies in transition. Flux is
replaced by immutable "truths," possibilities by certainties, threats by
"knowledge." It is a re-construction and re-conquest of a paradise lost by
giving up the fruit of the tree of knowledge.
It is this hyper-vigilance, this elevated suspicion, these instant
certainties fabricated from frail pseudo-theories and conspiracies - that
make the Man of the East so easy to manipulate, so vulnerable, so amenable
to collude in his own downfall. Bewitched by his self-spun myths, captivated
by his own paranoia, under the spell of his magical, immature, thinking -
non-critical, non-analytical, non-discriminating - he is exquisitely
susceptible to crooks and charlatans, to manipulators and demagogues, to the
realisation of the very threats he tried to fend off in the first place.
Here is what the DSM (Diagnostics and Statistics Manual) IV (1994) published
by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has to say about paranoids and
schizotypals:
The Paranoid Personality Disorder
A pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives
are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood and present in a
variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
(1) Suspects without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming,
or deceiving him or her
(2) Is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or
trustworthiness of friends or associates
(3) Is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the
information will be used maliciously against him or her
(4) Reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or
events
(5) Persistently bears grudges, ie is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or
slights
(6) Perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not
apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack
(7) Has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of
spouse or sexual partner.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
A pervasive pattern of social and interpersonal deficits marked by acute
discomfort with, and reduced capacity for, close relationships as well as by
cognitive or perceptual distortions and eccentricities of behaviour
beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts as
indicated by five (or more) of the following:
(1) Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference) - (sv: the
delusional belief that others are looking at him pointing at him, talking
about him, especially in a derogatory manner)
(2) Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behaviour and is
inconsistent with subcultural norms (eg superstitiousness, belief in
clairvoyance, telepathy, or "sixth sense"; in children and adolescents,
bizarre fantasies or preoccupations)
(3) Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions
(4) Odd thinking and speech (eg vague, circumstantial, metaphorical,
over-elaborate, or stereotyped)
(5) Suspiciousness or paranoid ideation
(6) Inappropriate and constricted affect
(7) Behaviour, or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar
(8) Lack of close friends or confidants other than first degree relatives
(9) Excessive social anxiety that does not diminish with familiarity and
tends to be associated with paranoid fears rather than negative judgements
about self.
Dr Sam Vaknin, 29 November 1999
The author is General Manager of Capital Markets Institute Ltd, a
consultancy firm with operations in Macedonia and Russia. He is an Economic
Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.
http://www.ce-review.org/
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
