Glossary: conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory is
economism's
twin sibling, in which a narrow band of
shadowy do-badders wag the dog by manipulating governments and public opinion,
often but not always in the service of narrow personal gain. E.g., the Dulles
brothers owned stock in United Fruit, therefore the CIA invaded Guatemala. It's
based on the notion that history is made by extremely small groups of people acting
covertly.
In current context, conspiracy theory tries to explain the
"war on terrorism"
as about oil pipelines, an attempt to occupy former Soviet territories,
a return to Cold War ideological manipulation, and so on. In doing so it ignores
the
class,
national, and ideological struggles underway throughout the Islamic world,
that is to say, the international political conjuncture in which 9/11 took place,
particularly the centrality of the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Although you often hear conspiracy theory expressed via Marxist jargon, as an explanation
of political events it's diametrically opposite to Marx's own views.
Marx's insight is that history is made by very large groups of people, that
is, by struggles between social classes including their international and ideological
refractions. Conspiracy theory believes that history is made by extremely small groups
of people.
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