Монополът върху магическото мислене
The Monopoly over Magical Thinking

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes the structuring of magical thinking in the context of Bulgarian web practices. Online phenomena are not diagnosed as newly formed developments but on a broader perspective; the impact of traditional media discourse as well pre-existing magical thinking practices are taken into consideration. The paper diagnoses how popular magical thinking neutralizes principal delegitimizing pressure from science and religion. It is argued that official religious monopoly over magical thinking is not functioning as such in the Bulgarian context. Instead it is colonized by the prevalence of noninstitionalized magical beliefs. The diagnosed form of monopoly over magical thinking is characterized by eclectics and syncretism developing in a convergence with media tabloidization. The new tabloid-magical monopoly is decentralized and oriented towards the consumption of easy and practical magical solutions. As a result the formation of a sustainable political project based on magical thinking is not possible.

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