What is a Conspiracy and Why do They Exist?

What is a conspiracy?

A conspiracy is essentially this. Take any event, be it widely known or unknown. Apply a problem, a crime usually, and attribute the lack of evidence to there being a void in the case. The final step to make it a conspiracy is to add a culprit, be it big, little, out of this world even.

Why are there conspiracies, why do people form them?

This is essentially my opinion:

People love to speculate. Typically the average human speculates their own thoughts and projects them toward what they are trying to understand before actually studying the material needed, or even looking at evidence.. this is not a bad thing, unless it is a continual neglect of obvious evidence. There are conspiracies that can hold truth and hold their own, there are also conspiracies so blatantly wrong they hardly deserve to be mentioned.

The most active conspiracy on the net, and at ATS is the NWO.

What is the NWO? No one knows.

Who is the NWO? No one knows.

Why is there a NWO? No one knows.

What has the NWO done? No one knows.

What events are perpetrated by the NWO? No one knows.

What will the NWO gain? No one knows.

Perfect conspiracy gone wrong.. because it is a conspiracy where almost no two people will agree on any of those questions.. some say its Bush and evil neocons, some say its the liberal socialist, some say its corporations, some say its aliens, some say its Masons. None have proof or even the slightest touch of reality. Image, a group of 10 men with all the riches in the world plotting to "take over" what they most likely already own!

From the vacuum of the void where we expect obvious evidence to show us exactly what happened, we form our own opinions and project them on the problem.... for example..

With the NWO.. it is used to describe ANY event! Bush signs a trade deal.. WNO.. we go to war.. NWO .. the Crown of England passes gas.. NWO!

We take the slightest amounts of evidence and use it to explain things that sometimes don't even make sense.. some times they do, and you get a compelling argument. Was JFK assassinated? Yes. By who? Well the evidence says one thing.. but the evidence can also be contradicted, and hence a REAL conspiracy is born.. as long as there is evidence to point other wise.

9/11 .. a void of explanation, irrational acts by the government, unexplained coincidences.. a REAL conspiracy, there is more evidence against the "official" story then for it.. that creates a problem with the official truth, and hence another truth must be out there..

Some times personal prejudice is projected onto a problem, fueled with hate and envy, greed or spite.. one example would be Masonry.. a organization taking over the world. Sometimes they are far right neocons to the left, and to the right they are far left liberals plotting the demise of social order.. both agree that for one reason or another they are the NWO but apparently suffer an identity crisis. Irrational, sometimes ignorant, sometimes uneducated explanations for world events.

Some times fear drives theories..

After 9/11 many feared the government did it, and next they would nuke cities, put us in cattle cars and take us to the infamous concentration camps.. While it is right to fear the unknown or unexplained, paranoia takes it to another level, especially irrational paranoia.. how can a Capitalist country exist when they jail a few million people and nuke a few a cities? Irrational conclusions, nations do not self destruct.

Some times looking at the big players and seeing them get wealthy and you .. well not as wealthy .. was the war in Iraq about oil? I think so, nations have gone to war for less, what makes our government so special and ethically correct they could never dream of such a scheme. People make money from making war.. its an industry... someone wanted war.. but who? If you have no idea, just blame the NWO .. they specialize in chaos.

What drives people to turn to conspiracy theories?

This in my opinion, depends on the person.

I turned to conspiracy theories to help explain some missing pieces in world events. The biggest thing I think that drives people to turn to the conspiracy side of things, lack of trust. We no longer trust our government, our news sources.. every thing needs to be independently analyzed before it can pass our own minds as being truthful information. It is sad we ended up in this position.. a populace that does not trust the government, means the government likewise no longer trust the people.

The other thing I think that turns people to conspiracy theories is self involvement in affairs. In a discussion group someone can project their ideas, others will actually consider them. Someone can talk about thermo nuclear weapons taking down the trade centers, someone can talk about jet fuel, some one can talk about trusses, the strength of building cores and the methods of demolition and have NO EXPERIENCE and still be considered.

Theres nothing wrong with that, so long as it remains within an educated structure and not complete wild speculation .. like space beams from lunar command.

I have nothing against conspiracies.. this is a conspiracy board after all.. and I joined for the conspiracies! I have many friends here.. I am simply stating my ideas on why some extreme conspiracies are formed. This is done, in light because I see a decline in actual well thought out conspiracies.. I see 3 line threads about some half thought question with little relevance turning into 5 pages fiasco.. I see the decline of mature well thought discussions and the praising of excellent work. I see the decline of quality, the decline of inspiring works, the decline of interest.

I guess you were kind of hoping that reading the ramlings on this board...
May somehow bring you closer to the truth??

Mostly its alot of people looking for an audience upon which to expound their particular bent, their "pearls of wizdom".....
or most often just to vent or rant......

If all the answers were forth coming and everyone could see through the fog of lies to the true nature of all that lies hidden behind the layers of speculation then the conspiracies would be no more.....

And you and I would have to get lives.......

Your right that speculation will not get anyone any closer to the truth....
But it may just generate the raw material from whense (is that a word,crap) it is constructed at a latter date.....

The fact is that much information is hidden covertly or overtly which breeds conspiracy theories.......
Which essetially hide the truth with-in a million permeations of fancy.....
But you can be assured that considering that when every possible (even wayout) possibility has been exhaused.......
you have at least hidden in your pile of crap...
the broken pieces of the truth....
And that promise is enough to hook you.. if your hungry enough for the answers......
Its like the gambler who knows there is more chance of being struck by lightning then winning the jackpot on his machine.....
But he will still pull the leaver////....

Legal dictionary definition....

conspiracy n. when people work together by agreement to commit an illegal act. A conspiracy may exist when the parties use legal means to accomplish an illegal result, or to use illegal means to achieve something that in itself is lawful. To prove a conspiracy those involved must have agreed to the plan before all the actions have been taken, or it is just a series of independent illegal acts. A conspiracy can be criminal for planning and carrying out illegal activities, or give rise to a civil lawsuit for damages by someone injured by the conspiracy.

Conspiracy = CORRUPTION of a truth or an INVENTION of a lie to masquarade as a truth. (my definition)

As for the why do they exist?
It all stems from the seedier side of human nature. Survival of the fittest. Having the advantage over others at any cost. Hoodwink, cover-up, lie, embezzlement of the truth. Whatever it takes to elevate one over another.
To have knowledge. Knowledge is power. Power is only powerful if it's exclusive. For the elite , not the masses.
Wise-all knowing versus naive - blind, gullible.

Which would you prefer to be?

Hence our need to deny ignorance and acquire knowledge. To know what "they" know. Level the playing field so to speak.