Lyndon LaRouche reportedly died on Tuesday at age 96… if you believe the media.
LaRouche was a key player in contemporary conspiracy theory. He began his career as a Marxist, and over time evolved into… a Marxist. He is typically described as moving into the “far right” for his political theory, but that is blatantly and demonstrably untrue. Rather, where he veered was into holocaust denial and various theories about how different activist groups traditionally associated with the left were attempting to dismantle and undermine what he defined as traditional American culture.
He was the founder of the LaRouche Movement, a political army of conspiracy theorists which attempted to elevate LaRouche to the Presidency by railing against fake news and providing their followers with “the truth”. A Democrat for much of his life, he was not averse to aligning with Republicans… or, indeed, any group… when they were willing to work with him to fulfill his objectives. For that reason, and for his adherence to a vision of an idealized 1950s American culture, he was a beloved figure to many white supremacist groups even as he insisted he was not a racist. In fact, many of his theories were outspoken in their defense of minorities and third-world countries, provided they were not expected to be integrated into Americanism.
LaRouche’s particular enemy was the UK monarchy, who he believed secretly controlled much of the world and had its tendrils woven throughout the US government.
Among the theories promoted by LaRouche:
9/11 was an inside job
The Iranian hostages were held for an “October Surprise”
A UK monarchist cabal is working to de-industrialize and depopulate African nations.
The same group is promoting casual sex, drugs, experimental literature, rock and rap music, feminism, homosexuality, Satanism, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism worldwide.
The Holocaust was grossly overblown, with less than 2 million Jews killed.
Money lending is a secret Jewish plot to rule the world.
AIDS is an easily communicable disease that does not require interpersonal fluid transmission.
LaRouche ran for President on many occasions, typically as a Democrat. He did so both before and after his imprisonment on mail fraud charges… which he and his supporters always insisted were nothing more than a political vendetta arranged by either the Monarchists or their agents in the US government.
One way he maintained his fan base was by being a staunch technologist. Despite his belief that George H.W. Bush was a member of the international conspiracy, he was an advocate of Reagan’s S.D.I. (“Star Wars”) effort. He was a strong promoter of vaccination, going to far as to suggest that some common diseases were intentionally mutated into other, deadlier diseases in an attempt to negate the progress vaccination was making at reducing death rates. He believed we needed to colonize other planets as quickly as possible, and that controlled use of nuclear bombs would be an easy way to dig irrigation canals in farmland-poor areas.
LaRouche was a visionary. Unfortunately, the vision he promoted was one of paranoia, insanity, nationalism and economic irrationality. His successful merging of political action and conspiracy theory provided a road map for future American politicians to form rabid fan bases while keeping them not just ignorant, but contemptuous, of the truth.
For all of that, I believe the true legacy of LaRouche can be summarized in the tweet of one of his many fans:
