Latter days magic

Magic thinking is not limited to prehistoric or medieval societies. It is alive and well in the modern supposedly "rational" societies. The main difference between prehistoric and modern magic is the kind of magical objects involved, which in turn is affected by the state of knowledge and technology. In the prehistoric times there were witches,demons, flying objects, an the like, today there are foreign agents or conspiracies. What all of them have in common is that they are outside of the realm of rational knowledge and by that virtue - they "expand" the rational knowledge by going where rational knowledge cannot.

Looking for explanations is the quintessence of human cognition. If the rational knowledge cannot supply a satisfactory explanation, people will turn to magic, especially in situations that cause them anxiety or fear. In this respect, people have not changed since the prehistoric times. What has changed is the type of magic and magic objects involved in these "explanations".

Witches and supernatural flying objects could do the trick when the then existing state of knowledge could not convincingly disprove their supposed 'effects' on human affairs. However, when knowledge progressed to the point that it could decisively show that witchcraft and sorcery do not exist, new magical objects immune to rational refutation had to be found. As a result we have two kind of magic phenomena today. One is the conspiracy theories of various kinds that live in the folklore and on the internet. The other one is institutional rites and believes - from "risk management" programs to the corporate organization itself.

The belief in 'Russia meddling in the US "democracy"" is a magic ritual that combines the elements of both forms of magical thinking - nutjob conspiracism with pseudo-rational corporate ritualism. It is widely accepted because it serves a useful function - it provides a convenient and comforting explanation of a discomforting reality that is messy and difficult to explain, at least in simplistic terms. That messy reality is the sorry state of the US 'democracy'. People find it it discomforting to find out that what they learned in civic lessons does not apply to the political reality they see - so they need a convenient explanation.

Invariably in such situations outsiders and foreigners are the first to blame for the "corruption" of the political order at home. In the Soviet Russia and the Maoist China - imperialist agents were to blame. In North Korea and the Islamic world - it is America, the Great Satan. In America, by contrast it is Russia. Blaming Russia has an advantage for the politically correct liberals, because allows them to maintain the pretense that they are not "racist" and do not blame people of different skin color or ethnicity. That pretty much explains the popularity of the Russia meddling in the US affairs myth.