Theory of Scientific Elites

Studies the social stratification within science, where a credentialed elite possesses the cultural capital, institutional access, and specialized language that separates them from both the public and from less-prestigious researchers. Their elite status grants their pronouncements automatic authority.

Theory of Scientific Elites Example: The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) scientists. They constitute a scientific elite whose aggregated reports carry immense weight in global policy. While based on evidence, their elite status gives them unique power to define the crisis and its solutions, potentially marginalizing localized or indigenous knowledge systems in the process.

by Dumu The Void February 7, 2026

Theory of Scientific Hegemony

The most pervasive form of control, where the scientific worldview becomes the dominant, "common sense" framework for understanding reality itself. It’s when scientific authority extends beyond the lab to shape culture, ethics, and politics, making alternative ways of knowing (e.g., spiritual, artistic, traditional) seem pre-modern or invalid.

Theory of Scientific Hegemony *Example: The mantra "Follow the Science!" during a public health crisis. While well-intentioned, it can establish a scientific hegemony where complex political trade-offs (liberty vs. security) or ethical choices are framed as purely technical problems with a single scientific solution. This sidelines democratic debate and frames dissent as "anti-science," consolidating authority in expert institutions.

by Dumu The Void February 7, 2026

Theory of Absolute Placebo

The more radical concept that certain societal structures or ideologies function entirely as placebos—they have no functional mechanism for solving the problem they address, but their continued belief and ritualistic application sustain social order and cohesion. Their "effect" is 100% the maintenance of the belief itself.

Theory of Absolute Placebo Example: The concept of "Meritocracy" as an absolute placebo. It claims to allocate rewards based on ability and effort, but in practice, wealth and network advantages dominate. However, widespread belief in meritocracy prevents social unrest by offering a plausible, satisfying narrative for inequality, functioning entirely to legitimize the status quo, not to describe reality.

by Dumu The Void February 9, 2026

Theory of Relative Placebo

The observation that the efficacy of a placebo (or belief-based effect) is not absolute but depends on cultural context, presentation, and societal authority. A sugar pill presented by a doctor in a white coat with a high price tag in a rich nation has a stronger "relative placebo" effect than the same pill given casually in a different setting. The theory extends to social policies and ideologies.

Theory of Relative Placebo Example: A prestigious consulting firm sells a corporate "wellness program" (mandatory mindfulness, step counters) that reduces burnout symptoms in the short term, not by changing workloads, but through the relative placebo effect of making employees feel cared for. The same program in a struggling non-profit would have little effect because the authority and "potency" of the placebo are weaker.

by Dumu The Void February 9, 2026

Spheres of Social Control Theory

A granular analysis of how different social institutions specialize in distinct forms of regulation. The family sphere controls through love, shame, and dependency; the educational sphere through grading, sorting, and temporal discipline; the workplace sphere through wages, promotion, and termination; the legal sphere through codified punishment; the medical sphere through diagnosis and normalization; the technological sphere through algorithmic nudging and interface design. Each sphere has its own techniques, targets, and justifications. Together, they form a redundant, overlapping net of constraint.

Spheres of Social Control Theory Example: Consider how a "troubled" teenager experiences social control across spheres: Family applies guilt and grounding; School applies detention and academic probation; Mental health system applies diagnosis and medication; Juvenile justice applies probation and monitoring; Social media applies algorithmic content filtering and shadowbanning. Each sphere claims its own benevolent logic; together, they comprehensively regulate a life.

by Dumu The Void February 11, 2026

Spheres of Hegemony Theory

An extension of Gramscian hegemony, mapping how dominance is secured not just through coercion but through intellectual and moral leadership across multiple social spheres. A ruling bloc achieves hegemony when its worldview becomes common sense in the educational sphere, its economic arrangements seem natural in the labor sphere, its values saturate the cultural sphere, and its political options exhaust the electoral sphere. Hegemony is power that has become invisible because it has colonized the taken-for-granted assumptions of every sphere.

Spheres of Hegemony Theory Example: Neoliberal hegemony manifests across spheres: in the economic sphere, privatization is "efficiency"; in the educational sphere, students are "customers"; in the cultural sphere, self-optimization is a moral duty; in the political sphere, deregulation is the only "realistic" option. No one needs to force these ideas; they are the water everyone swims in. Spheres of Hegemony Theory analyzes how a single logic saturates diverse domains until alternatives become literally unimaginable.

by Dumu The Void February 11, 2026

Spheres of Power Theory

A model of society as composed of distinct, overlapping domains—economic, political, military, ideological, technological—each with its own logic, elite, and resources. Power is not monolithic but flows through these spheres, which can cooperate, compete, or remain autonomous. A capitalist corporation (economic sphere) and a democratic legislature (political sphere) operate by different rules, yet their interaction shapes policy. The theory maps how actors translate power from one sphere to another: wealth buys political influence, political power grants economic privileges, military strength underwrites economic expansion.

Spheres of Power Theory Example: A tech billionaire uses economic sphere wealth to fund a super-PAC, influencing elections (political sphere), which appoints regulators sympathetic to his industry. His foundation funds university research (ideological sphere) that produces favorable studies on automation. His news network (media sphere) frames his antitrust battles as attacks on innovation. Spheres of Power Theory tracks this currency exchange of influence across different institutional domains.

by Dumu The Void February 11, 2026