Paranoia has been part of American politics for a long time. Paul Krugman writes that it has been at the heart of recent American political debates:
Remember, conservatives have spent decades denying the reality of climate change, insisting that it’s a gigantic hoax perpetrated by a vast international scientific conspiracy. And as the signs of climate catastrophe multiply, from wildfires in Australia to drought in California, climate denial has only strengthened its grip on the G.O.P. On the eve of the 2018 midterms, a survey found 73 percent of Republican senators denying the scientific consensus that man-made climate change is happening.
Then there was the fear that Barack Obama's economic policies would fuel an inflationary spiral:
Consider how many on the right reacted after their dire predictions of hyperinflation under Obama failed to pan out — not by admitting that they were wrong, but by insisting that the numbers were being cooked. And I’m not talking about fringe figures, I’m talking about people conservatives consider leading intellectuals.
Conspiracy theories haven't always been the exclusive property of the right. You can see paranoia in the Sanders campaign:
It was dismaying to find a senior Sanders adviser declaring that all those disagreeing with proposals for a wealth tax — which, by the way, I support — “are the types of groups and academics that are funded by the powers that be, the establishment, the billionaire class.”
Paranoia produces what Krugman calls "zombie ideas." These days, most of the zombie ideas are on the right. And, at the moment, the biggest, ugliest zombie idea is that the coronavirus is a "hoax" propagated to take down Donald Trump:
Not to worry, say right-wing pundits and news organizations: It’s all a hoax, a conspiracy by the liberal media to make Donald Trump look bad. Administration officials and Trump himself have echoed their claims.
These claims are, of course, crazy. Among other things, Covid-19 is a global phenomenon, with major outbreaks ranging from South Korea to Italy. Are the South Korean and Italian media also part of a conspiracy to get Trump?
This craziness was, however, entirely predictable to anyone who has been following right-wing politics. It’s just the latest battle in a long-running war on truth, on the very idea that there exists an inconvenient objective reality.
Paranoia is -- essentially -- a denial of reality. That's the world Donald Trump lives in. And that's the virus he has spread for decades.
Image: Signal v Noise
