It has long been recognized that conspiracy narratives may be seen as a special kind of myth. In most cases, however, this is taken as a sign of their irrational and unsubstantiated nature. I argue that mythical modes of reasoning are actually far more pervasive in modern political and cultural discourse than we commonly admit and that the difference between mainstream discourse and conspiracy narratives is not one between "rational" and "mythical" thought but rather one between different types of mythical thinking. The specific nature of conspiracy myths is best understood in relation to two other types of social myths: political myths and fictional myths. Conspiracy myths are a hybrid of these two genres: like fictional myths, they make use of imaginative elements, but like political myths, they are understood as having a relatively straightforward relation to reality and not just a metaphorical one. They are essentially anti-systemic, and their chief ethos is that of distrust. Nevertheless, the degree to which they reject the system varies, and it is thus useful to distinguish between weaker and stronger conspiracy myths. While the latter reject the system altogether and are incompatible with political myths, the former are capable of co-operating with them.
This paper seeks to characterise the relationship between civil society and mining in Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 2000 and 2020 by observing the actions of three different groups in resisting the expansion of mining. The analysis points to the existence of a plurality of forms of engagement, organisation and ways of establishing relations between civil society and the state and the market. It also reveals tension between different ways of framing the mining problem by civil society, of posing this problem publicly and establishing ways to confront it. Three sets of actors are identified: (i) environmental NGOs, who are market-oriented; (ii) groups with looser ties who are more radical; and (iii) social movements aligned with the identities of a state-orientated traditional left. My analysis suggests that the divergence in framing the context by these three different groups hinders the construction of a substantive public debate on the mining issue in Brazil. The article is divided into three parts. First, it briefly outlines the process of mining expansion in Brazil, starting in the mid-2000s, highlighting its economic impact. Second, it considers the relationship between civil society articulation and deliberation. Third, it characterises the constitution of these different civil society groups who have established interactions with market and state actors that fostered this expansion.
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