A-Infos (en) France, Coordination of Anarchist Groups CGA - IAL #94 - The conspiracy theories: danger and impasse of social criticism (fr) [machine translation]

Conspiracy theories are back, including the Internet. It should be noted that the sites 
and videos of conspiracy theories flourish on the Internet and echo. While conspiracy 
theories have always existed, they have adapted to this new medium and reach a broad 
population. It is not uncommon to see the hints "conspiracy" of some speech event. Even in 
Saint-Imier, international meetings anarchists, some people were expressing their 
willingness to talk about the Bilderberg Group or the Trilateral Commission, as "THE" we 
need to talk about, surpassing in importance all others. In French rap also, there are 
full texts incorporating conspiracy theories: for example Rockin 'Squat (Assassin former 
member of the group) and Keny Arkana, two renowned artistsÂeÂsÂeÂs politicized, which have 
not hesitate to "denounce" the Illuminati secret group conspiring to dominate the world.

Conspiracy theories are often associated with anti-Semitism, racism and hatred of the 
other, one can imagine a kind of fantasy that can justify a strong, authoritarian, fascist 
attack a scapegoat. Historically the success of conspiracy theories have always allowed 
the expansion of theories of the extreme right, yet those that carry the speech is not 
always bad faith. That is why we consider it important to respond to propose a political 
discourse on this subject in order to guard against this reasoning. It requires knowledge 
and identify what kind of words and then analyze the pitfalls that must not fall.

The problem with these ideas, it is not so much false "truths" they convey that thought 
patterns and behaviors that result. If you begin to convince a small group of people 
diaboliques secretly managed to take control of the majority of power to a level barely 
imaginable, you can go from a revolutionary critique to anti- revolutionary. First, it 
centralizes our attention to this secret group, and attributed much of the ills of our 
society's destructive will. This is a critical system (patriarchal, capitalist, ...) 
becomes scapegoating. For example, the financial crisis of 2008, it is not uncommon to 
hear that she would be the result of unbridled financialization with some investment banks 
(including Goldman Sachs) as the Scarecrow . The idea that the capitalist system is 
operated by a crisis and, more important it is, the more these crises have serious 
consequences on people, going less well than that is to say, let's deal with the stock 
market and all will be well! It is clear from this example how conspiracy theories 
depoliticize the debate: an analysis of a system with its springs, its constraints and 
consequences are going to the discretion of such person or company and such judge or 
benevolence its alleged malfeasance. In the debates, this translates into a loss of time 
and saliva on blogs, it's called troll: make sterile discussion. Go check such information 
on a person or a business takes time and energy away from the real issue: the critique of 
the system.

Thus, the critique of conspiracy theories should not be limited to counter methodically 
the most outlandish theories and show that they are absurd. Must uncover the mechanisms of 
reflection on which they rely and share to get rid of. These theories may seem attractive 
to anyone: after all, would there not a global conspiracy of the ruling class against the 
class of worker  s  honest? We need to find intellectual defense tools that allow you 
all to quickly identify the value of a theory, discussion, debate and guard against 
confusion, inaction posed theories the plot.

What are conspiracies

Kind of scientific knowledge does not give immediate response and easy to search for the 
meaning, it runs through other means. We were formedÂeÂsÂeÂs learned, but this training is 
not adequate to acquire an ability to sort the distinguishing quality proposals and 
establishing criteria for both truth and justice.

Conspiracy theories may exist from time immemorial, but are clearly written with the end 
of the religious hegemony. After 1980, the plots change their appearance, they are 
reactivated by hybridization with esoteric themes (Satanism, magic, ancient civilization, 
aliens ...)

The plot mixes original domains such as geography (the hollow earth theory), medicine 
(vaccines) or more urban myths (September 11, 2001, Area 51, Bermuda Triangle ...) With 
the Internet, plot mute. It will promote the commoditization and extended their support 
anonymous enpermettant rumors across the web. The complotisme becomes an opportunity for 
people to have the impression of being at the initiative of certain arguments.

We can distinguish three elements:

1) The conspiracy as fact (conspiracy, conspiracy or event). In the legal analysis of 
Canadian law, conspiracy is not recognized as a crime-perfect process that can use a 
group, but these conspired tions exist in isolation. These conspiracies attack powers of 
official institutions (such as the CIA or the Trilateral Commission) or hidden (Freemasonry).

2) conspiracy theories (complotisme, large or mega-plot, large or superconspiration). The 
conspiracy theories like a self-sustaining political vision that all powers, forces are 
the result of conspiracies. It appears to be objective, not to restore justice, but to 
denounce the existence of groups, agencies or hidden intentions. Denounces the complotisme 
but gives no method to fight against the plot, it seems that his revelation is sufficient 
to remove the balance of power.

3) The theory, suspicion or doubt of the conspiracy (conspiracy systemic) is an 
explanation that is not necessarily linked to a membership conspiracy theories. It relates 
to situations scattered plot the long term, having a relationship with a particular power, 
aiming to expose the infiltration or dropping it (less common). These theories place 
greater emphasis on the aspect of "hidden" or secret. This award is sometimes given to a 
group, an agreement or a particular action.

Common targets. First, "Mage", Ventriloquist, and a Jew, Jesuit and Freemason. More modern 
Bolshevik and Nazi. Contemporary Bildeberg, Illuminati, Alien.

Types. It seems as if fear and mistrust is correlated (without necessarily being involved) 
to all kinds of conspiracies, those accusing the authorities (type "System") seem rather 
marked by the "irrationality" (belief in some esoteric phenomena) and those featuring 
minorities (such as "minorities", eg Jewish or Muslim terrorists). This is not a type of 
plot that succeeded historically to another, but the types that co-exist today.

We can distinguish three types of plots: those anti-system, those marked by the irrational 
(often related, it is true for those who believe in the past) and those type "Minorities". 
Real risks. Some targets, beliefs or have fewer social consequences than others. Accuse 
God or Extraterrestrials causes relatively little danger to the population, when the 
prosecution brought against sets of socially recognized (Jews, blacks, women ...) the risk 
is higher. Somewhere, the absence, blurring, or discretion (Illuminati Bildeberg, 
Freemasons) that surrounds certain sets reduces the risk, but not eliminate so far: the 
suspicion related to a misunderstanding of the political support can lead to dangerous 
groups, as well as the suspicion related to a misunderstanding in the past led to 
burn-called "witches".

The conspiracy theory is one method to grab inexpensive beliefs of the masses. The problem 
is not so much conspiracy theory ellemÃme, but lack the means to defend themselves, 
facilitating alienation, political incentives associated with some of these ideas.

The conspiracy theories and the crisis

 The explanation of the economic crisis we are experiencing, as a global conspiracy is 
increasingly widespread. For a right-wing American and European anti-Semitism 
historically, this is an opportunity to redeploy a known speech and old. On the far left, 
the general evolution of social criticism to a critical anti-liberal capitalist provides a 
fertile ground for the development of conspiracy theories. By placing finance and banking 
as main enemy, and abandoning the critique of property in favor of a simple critique of 
speculation it is easy to give the taste of the day the conspiracy theories.

At the extreme right

 On the far right, if the theories developed are not always anti-Semitic, they use the 
same story. Criticism of a "stateless elite", "global" is used to attract the lower 
classes, while reintroducing the issue of national debate on the crisis. References are 
sometimes explicit, as in Greece, where Tuesday, Oct. 23 MP Ilias Kasidiaris, spokesman of 
the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, read aloud an extract of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in 
the Greek parliament. In France without speaking of anti-Semitism, Marine Le Pen grows in 
a book published in January 2012 a thesis on the existence of a conspiracy globalist 
"attacking identities, cultures and nations and an economic crisis that will be a "global 
oligarchy." Behind a facade of critical economic crisis, which never attacks the 
productive capitalism, or a property, it is a nationalist discourse, xenophobic and 
supporter of a strong authoritarian state that is broadcast.

Contamination of the imagery and vocabulary conspiracy among anticapitalist

 Far only affect the extreme right, the conspiracy discourse on the crisis often 
contaminates the speech illiberal and anti-capitalist left. If the ambiguity between some 
anti-capitalist discourse on the crisis is often not desired, it is very real. Sometimes 
for convenience, or to make the presentation more meaningful, some anti-capitalist 
discourse focus, not on a critique of the capitalist system as a political and economic 
system, but a few multinational or a few families of billionaires. Recovering vocabulary 
connoted as that of "hyperclass" instead of bourgeoisie or ruling class or focusing only 
on critical banks with the term "bankster" is a radical critique of abandoned property and 
a political system but also facilitates the ambiguity desired by some right-wing groups 
between a speech and a capitalist conspiracy or nationalist discourse. The idea of ââa 
conspiracy, a conspiracy

often based on an assumption, the authorÂeÂs conspiracy, the conspiracy would have total 
control of the situation. All cards are mastered.ÂeÂs some conspiracy grow through this 
logic and believe that the economic crisis protest movements are, too, part of the plot 
and are therefore handled. Since the control is total, the challenge is itself a 
manipulation, there would be no interest in participating in a protest movement like 
Occupy Wall Street, presented by some conspiracyÂeÂs as a manipulation of Georges Sorros. 
In this situation the followers of conspiracy theories is limited only to then expose a 
supposed hidden truth of a global conspiracy without offering perspectives, thus favoring 
the status quo face a crisis and a real danger.

One of the mistakes of conspiracy theories is to consider the ruling classes or parts of 
them as infallible, and thus forget that, like any social group, they are subject to 
internal contradictions. But we get very good at designing these contradictions within our 
own group, and this observation is one of the foundations of our thinking \ why class 
consciousness is too low? why some workersÂeÂsÂeÂs support pro-business party? etc.. As we 
suffer from internal divisions, the ruling classes are not spared, and fortunately! The 
pretext of the economic crisis is now used to implement a policy of social destruction. It 
does so much for the crisis a conspiracy. The crisis is a fault of capitalism that 
capitalists themselves  themselves can use or not in their favor, but to which we must 
respond. The last few years and said predictions of economists we have shown that far from 
being infallible, most capitalists have foundÂeÂs in a situation he or she  s  could not 
pants. The existence of these faults shows that if the capitalist system is a formidable 
opponent, he is not infallible, he can not control everything and can be exceeded.

Antonin, Florian, Xavier,

Montpellier Group
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