Right-Wing Psychedelia: Case Studies in Cultural Plasticity and Political Pluripotency

Abstract

Recent media advocacy for the nascent psychedelic medicine industry has emphasized the potential for psychedelics to improve society, pointing to research studies that have linked psychedelics to increased environmental concern and liberal politics. However, research supporting the hypothesis that psychedelics induce a shift in political beliefs must address the many historical and contemporary cases of psychedelic users who remained authoritarian in their views after taking psychedelics or became radicalized after extensive experience with them. We propose that the common anecdotal accounts of psychedelics precipitating radical shifts in political or religious beliefs result from the contextual factors of set and setting, and have no particular directional basis on the axes of conservatism-liberalism or authoritarianism-egalitarianism. Instead, we argue that any experience which challenges a person's fundamental worldview—including a psychedelic experience—can precipitate shifts in any direction of political belief. We suggest that the historical record supports the concept of psychedelics as “politically pluripotent,” non-specific amplifiers of the political set and setting. Contrary to recent assertions, we show that conservative, hierarchy-based ideologies are able to assimilate psychedelic experiences of interconnection, as expressed by thought leaders like Jordan Peterson, corporadelic actors, and members of several neo-Nazi organizations.

Classic Psychedelics and Human–Animal Relations

“…There is increasing awareness about the role of extra-pharmacological factors in the effects following classic psychedelic experiences [54][55][56][57][58]. For example, being in natural (non-man-made) surroundings during a classic psychedelic experience may strengthen the effects on nature-relatedness [43,57].…”

What good are psychedelic humanities?

“…Tightly integrated with the (social) scientific study of extrapharmacological factors, psychedelic humanities remind laboratory researchers that the effects observed in the kind of people who participate in their more or less controlled trials are not necessarily the effects to be observed as psychedelics are used in very different settings and practices by people with very different mindsets. For example, in the face of scientific studies suggesting that psychedelics promote left-wing, anti-authoritarian, and pro-environmental attitudes, the historical and ethnographic archive presents cases of right-wing and authoritarian uses of psychedelics ( Piper, 2015 ; Nour et al, 2017 ; Langlitz, 2020c ; Pace and Devenot, 2021 ). While the denunciation of rightist currents in psychedelia reduces moral complexity by discriminating between good and bad applications, the discovery of the cultural plasticity and political pluripotency of psychedelics increases epistemic complexity by showing that psychedelic drug action can be complicated by social factors, which require both moral and psychopharmacological inquiry ( Langlitz et al, 2021 ).…”

Culture, context, and ethics in the therapeutic use of hallucinogens: Psychedelics as active super-placebos?

“…In a sharp challenge to the popular view that associates psychedelic drugs with tolerance, flexibility, and liberal worldviews, Pace and Devenot (2021) examined historical and contemporary case studies of individuals and political movements, from neo-Nazis to cult leaders, who endorsed authoritarian and discriminatory worldviews in spite of, or as a result of, psychedelic use. The second author has encountered similar cases working as part of a clinical team specializing in psychosocial interventions with individuals at risk of violent radicalization.…”