Ain’t No Illuminati, It’s Just Those Late Capitalism Blues
Conspiracy theories are the manifestation of the unbridled anti-authoritarianism of sixteen year old boys and dietary-supplement snake-oil salesmen. The term “conspiracy” often conjures the image of tinfoil-hat laden, neurotic weirdos huddled in a basement around a computer, conspiring to unmask the global infrastructure which causes all the problems of the modern world. However, conspiracy theories are themselves a conspiracy to distract individuals from the systemic contradictions of capitalism. In this way, conspiracies seek to exculpate the bourgeois ruling class and instead refocus working class anger at straw-man scapegoats. This is what makes them dangerous as opposed to just being silly. They are inherently framed around subverting class consciousness.
Perhaps the grandest of all conspiracy theories is the belief in the “Illuminati.” The original Illuminati was an enlightenment era, private society of intellectuals from German Bavaria who opposed superstition, the abuse of state power, and the political dominance of religion in Europe in the late 1700’s. That specific group had its roots in the Free Masons, which is itself surrounded by all sorts of conspiratorial rumors concerning their unseen power.
The modern concept of the Illuminati is far more disparate and amorphous. Beliefs about the Illuminati range from the notion that a New World Order is being established through global institutions like the U.N. to destroy capitalism and enslave humanity, to Satan-worship in the Bohemian Grove by the most powerful men in industry and politics. What is interesting is that this theory is itself an attempt to rationalize the extreme inequality and political dominance of finance capital; however, it doesn’t seek to unravel the systemic nature of the problem. It instead treats the issue as being a matter of not having the “right people at the helm.”
If only politics weren’t controlled by the Illuminati! If only capitalism were run by good people! If only Donald Trump were elected President to preside over the evils of globalization!
It is very interesting how close this conspiracy comes to the full realization that capitalism needs to be systemically dismantled, reorganized, and controlled by the workers. Yet, it instead chooses to become mired in unimportant moralistic fantasies, hero worship, and anti-communism.
I must digress, however, because it would be impossible to talk about conspiracy theories in general without talking about The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. A fabricated text purporting to transcribe the minutes of an elite cabal of Jewish intelligentsia, the book alleges a conspiracy of the Jewish people to subvert the morals of Gentiles and consolidate control over the entire world through the international banking system. First published in Russia in 1903, the book was later taught as historical fact in Nazi Germany and a run of 500,000 copies was funded by America’s own entrepreneurial anti-Semite, Henry Ford. The book is pure hokum, but it has managed to maintain a following among Neo-Nazis and find new manifestations in the undying fixation the right-wing has on Jewish billionaire financier George Soros. It isn’t so much that Soros is a billionaire that is their issue, but rather, he’s not the “right type” of billionaire. This, in and of itself, is indicative of the ways in which conspiracy theories often attempt to maintain or salvage the status quo by placing the blame on individuals or marginalized groups. Never mind that eight people wield as much wealth as the poorest 50% of the world’s population (3.6 billion people), the real problem is that George Soros has donated to Planned Parenthood or ACORN or some other morally outrageous complaint. Forgive the reference to Žižek, but Soros is “repairing with the right hand what he ruined with the left hand.” Capitalism is the problem, not Soros or the Koch’s or the Rothschild’s per se, but the system that produced them. These conspiracies exist to rationalize what is right in front of us every day.
Modern conspiracy theorists now have access to large audiences through the relative open nature of the internet, an unfortunate byproduct of the technology boom to say the least. InfoWars is perhaps the most frightening example of this. Alex Jones is a farce. And while it is important to laugh at this man for his deluded inanity, InfoWars is also one of the many faces of the American neo-Fascist movement of the Alt-Right, which has its roots in the white separatists of the 1990’s. In this context, it must be taken seriously. I mean, after all, white nationalist and all-around homunculus Steve Bannon is the White House Chief Strategist.
It fundamentally must be said: conspiracies are designed around ignoring the reality of capitalism. There isn’t some nefarious “grand cabal” that administers and seeks to undermine the liberty of working people. That’s just capitalism. With great wealth, comes undue privilege. Workers work and Owners own — i.e. the owners reap the benefit from — “profit.” There’s no mystery here beyond the reality of how capitalism continues to disenfranchise the worker while it buoys their uncertainty in a cold and impersonal economy. The system works for the rich. Workers make wages, owners make profit. The point is not to be conspiratorial but to instead have class consciousness. What is needed is for a radical transformation in our society and for working people to leave behind these desperate notions of conspiracy and see the writing on the wall. Capitalism, private ownership, alienation — that is what ensnares us.
