On the conspiracy theory – Tyler Cowen:

‘To be clear, I am a QAnon outsider and a non-believer in conspiracy theories. Nonetheless, I think it’s necessary to do more than regard QAnon with either incredulity or scorn. America needs to understand it, and part of that is acknowledging that conspiracy theorizing has exerted a significant influence on American history.
The American Revolution was in part based on a (mostly untrue) conspiracy theory about the desire of the British Empire to take away American liberties, and much of 19th-century politics was based on tales of cabals and intrigue. It’s a useful exercise to approach QAnon with the same dispassionate spirit used to analyze those historical eras.’

(…)

‘Part of my approach, you may have noticed, is to consider that for many adherents, QAnon is more about a set of beliefs than a set of facts. One of those beliefs seems to be that child abuse is both widespread and underreported, and the latest statistics appear to support that. But then there are many falsehoods and exaggerations piled on top.
At any rate, I wonder how many QAnon adherents are motivated not primarily by opposition to child abuse, but by frustration with elites. Certainly the positive portrayal of Trump, and the corresponding negative depiction of many journalists and politicians, seems designed to offend elite coastal opinion.
But it’s necessary to dig deeper still. Is outrage at elites really the central issue? There is good evidence that believers in conspiracy theories tend to think society is changing too fast, and that their world is beyond their control. Maybe the anti-elitism is a convenient marketing device, a way to make the doctrine focal and appropriate for 2020, but not really the driving motivation behind QAnon support.’

Read the article here.

Good and important question, what do those who believe in certain conspiracy theories really believe in?

The desire to be special and unique and the promise of ‘exclusive knowledge’ might be decisive.
In other words, crucial factors are respect, self-esteem and the certainty to be among the winners, maybe not the winners of today, the winners of tomorrow.