Abstract: The anti-power ethic proposed by Huntington and myth-status politics by Hofstadter are the two paradigms on American conspiracy theory. The former considers the conspiracy theory as a proof of the superiority of American political system, whereas the latter focuses on the anti-intellectualism and irrationality. Huntington’s hypothesis, with its highlight on the American creeds, ignores the role played by the conflicts of the social groups. Hofstadter’s theory, characterized by its elitism, overemphasizes the passivity of mass man. The conspiracy theory, as a reflection of the complex power relations, does not exist in merely a single form. A more careful analysis and multiple micro-perspectives will cast a new light on the mechanism of the conspiracy theory.

Key words: conspiracy theory, Huntington, anti-power ethic, Hofstadter, myth-status politics

摘要： 亨廷顿提出的“反权力伦理”与霍夫施塔特提出的“神话—地位政治”是美国学者解读美国阴谋论的两种基本范式。前者将阴谋论的盛行当作美国政治制度优越性的隐性证明，后者强调阴谋论的反智主义与非理性色彩。“反权力伦理”范式的局限在于过于强调阴谋论发生机制中的理想主义成分，忽视了社会集团冲突在阴谋论流行过程中的作用。而“神话—地位政治”范式只关注于大众受少数社会集团操控的一面，折射出精英主义的偏见。反映现实世界权力关系的阴谋论不应以单一方式存在。只有通过对复杂权力关系的仔细梳理，以更为微观的视角为切入点，我们才有可能更加接近于认清阴谋论的运行机制。

关键词: 阴谋论, 亨廷顿, 反权力伦理, 霍夫施塔特, 神话—地位政治