Common Problems with Conspiracy Theories

People on the fringes of society tend to gravitate toward movements critical of the established order. That explains why you find so many obsessive and unstable people among the ranks of conspiracy theorists.

That fact alone makes it easy for those with a stake in the established order to dismiss and/or discredit conspiratorialists as weirdos and nut-cases. Ad hominem attacks are easier and more effective for influencing the masses than research and reason.

Although I know that -- should I become important enough to be noticed -- those spokespeople will tar me with the same brush, I want, for clarity's sake, to differentiate my position from that of a significant portion of the conspiratorialist community. I will give the three most grievous errors that I believe one will find in conspiratorial presentations.

Here they are:

1) Seeing "THE Conspiracy" as Jewish. I suppose "Worldwide Jewish Banking Conspiracy" makes for better pamphleteering than, say "Worldwide Episcopalian Banking Conspiracy". I, however, think the latter is much closer to the truth of the matter than the former.

Jews are neither more nor less given to conspire against others than Sicilians, Irish Catholics or Saudi Arabians. The fact that Jews are disproportionately represented among international bankers is an interesting product of historical development, but not necessarily indicative of some broad plot of Jewish design.

2) Seeing "THE Conspiracy" as centered in one, all-powerful organization with historical continuity (Illuminati, Freemasonry, Papacy, etc). There are three parts to this view, which I deal with as follows:

---- One organization -- Whether the Freemasons, the Illuminati, the Bilderbergers, the CFR or any other group, I do not see the powers-that-be confined to any one group. My research indicates that power is distributed among a distinct network of individuals and institutions (more on that later).

---- Historical continuity -- Here you find the conspiratorialists' view analagous to the Papists' apostolic succession. Since power is not confined to just one organization or institution, the argument that there is a discrete, coherent organizational conspiratorial continuity from ancient times to the present is moot.

Individuals and institutions, however, may borrow ideas and principles from contemporary and historical organizations because of a commonality rooted in philosophy and exercise of power.

---- All-powerful group that plans & controls all events of significance -- Conspiratorialists commonly attribute near omnipotence to the inner circle of the cabal. Although the power networks of this world wield a vast amount of power, they cannot and do not control all the details of all world events.

Observers conclude that insiders micromanage world affairs when they see the power brokers profiting and consolidating power in the midst of national and international events. , However, the reality is that their wealth, influence and their access to information allow them to turn even unexpected situations to their favor.

3) UFOs, Area 51, space (or interdimensional) aliens and the like. These are way outside the scope of my worldview. I heard an interview of one researcher who performed a background study of all the people who had claimed to be abducted by aliens. He said the list included people from all walks of life & religions, EXCEPT what he referred to "walk-the-walk born-again Christians". 'Nuff said.

So, if I reject these commonly-held aspects of conspiracy theories, what does my theory look like? That's a topic for another post.