La racionalidad de las teorías conspirativas. Una aproximación desde Max Weber y Raymond Boudon
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https://doi.org/10.54790/rccs.24Palabras clave:
Teorías conspirativas, Elección racional, Racionalidad cognitiva, Max Weber, Raymond BoudonResumen
Las teorías conspirativas suelen ser percibidas como fenómenos ideológicos irracionales con potencial para producir efectos perniciosos en las sociedades donde se propagan. Esta percepción, reforzada por la visibilidad de los ejemplos históricos en que han legitimado la discriminación de minorías o incluso el genocidio, condiciona el análisis sociológico de las mismas y limita su potencial explicativo cuando parte de una presunción de irracionalidad. Este artículo defiende, por el contrario, una aproximación que parte de una presunción de racionalidad, concebida en un sentido amplio en el que se conjugan la racionalidad instrumental y la racionalidad valorativa. Un enfoque de elección racional así planteado permite una comprensión más completa del fenómeno y, con ella, potencialmente una base más sólida para intervenir respecto a los objetivos normativos a los que no renuncia. El artículo contrasta la visión restringida de la racionalidad de Pareto con las de Weber y Boudon, en tanto son aplicables a las teorías conspirativas, y examina las conexiones que estas presentan con las creencias religiosas de acuerdo con Popper. A continuación, detalla los distintos enfoques racionales que admite el fenómeno y esboza una propuesta teórica para conciliar las dos corrientes principales en el estudio sociológico de las teorías conspirativas.
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