New World Order (conspiracy theory)

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The defunct Information Awareness Office's originally adopted logo created controversy because the eye and pyramid has long been used as an ominous symbol in conspiracy theories surrounding the alleged New World Order.

In international relations theory, the term "new world order" refers to a new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power. However, in conspiracy theory, the term "New World Order" (the capital letters are distinguishing) refers to the advent of a cryptocratic or totalitarian world government.

At the core of most theories, a powerful and secretive group of globalists is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an autonomous world government, which would replace sovereign states and other checks and balances in international power struggles. Significant occurrences in politics and business are speculated to be caused by an extremely influential cabal operating through many front organizations. Numerous historical and current events are seen as steps in an on-going plot to achieve world domination primarily through secret political gatherings and decision-making processes.

In the past, the conspirators were usually said to be crypto-communist sympathizers who were intent upon bringing the United States under a common world government with the Soviet Union, but the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 undercut that theory. So most conspiracy theorists changed their focus to the United Nations as the likely controlling force in a bureaucratic collectivist New World Order, an idea which is undermined by the powerlessness of the U.N. and the unwillingness of even moderates within the American Establishment to give it anything but a limited role.^[1]

Social critics have expressed concern that the synthesis of paranoid theories about a New World Order conspiracy, which were once limited to American far-right audiences, has given them mass appeal and enabled them to become commonplace in mass media, thereby inaugurating an unrivaled popular culture of conspiracism in the U.S. of the late 20th and early 21st century. Some warn that this development may have negative effects on American political life, such as producerist demagogy and moral panic influencing elections as well as domestic and foreign policy.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

History of the term

American televangelist Pat Robertson argues that the modern use of the phrase "New World Order" originated in the early 20th century with English businessman Cecil Rhodes, who advocated that the British Empire and the United States of America should jointly impose a federal world government (with English as the official language) and ultra-imperialistic capitalism to bring about lasting "world peace". A sinister motive is seen in the fact that Rhodes founded the Rhodes Scholarship as a global brotherhood of future leaders.^[7]

British official Lionel George Curtis, who also believed in the idea of an "Imperial Federation", founded the Round Table movement in 1909, which led to the establishment of the U.K.-based Royal Institute for International Affairs in 1919 and the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations in 1921.^[8]

The concept of a New World Order as a world government was also promoted by intellectuals of the political left such as English writer H.G. Wells, a vigorous advocate for a world social democracy.^[9]

In the 20th and early 21st century, a number of statesmen, such as Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill, Mikhail Gorbachev, George H. W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, and Gordon Brown, have used the term "new world order" only to refer to a new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power after World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. They all saw these periods as opportunities to implement idealistic proposals for global governance only in the sense of new collective efforts to identify, understand, or address worldwide problems that go beyond the capacity of individual states to solve. However, their use of the term “new world order” when discussing global governance has proven controversial since it has invariably been and continues to be misinterpreted by conspiracy theorists as a call for the imposition of an authoritarian or even totalitarian world government.

The use of the term "New World Order" that had the most influence on the fears of contemporary conspiracy theorists can be found in U.S. President George H. W. Bush's 11 September 1990 "Toward a New World Order" speech (full text) to a joint session of Congress, in which he described the United States' objectives for post-Cold-War global governance in cooperation with post-Soviet states:

Until now, the world we’ve known has been a world divided – a world of barbed wire and concrete block, conflict and cold war. Now, we can see a new world coming into view. A world in which there is the very real prospect of a new world order. In the words of Winston Churchill, a "world order" in which "the principles of justice and fair play ... protect the weak against the strong ..." A world where the United Nations, freed from cold war stalemate, is poised to fulfill the historic vision of its founders. A world in which freedom and respect for human rights find a home among all nations.

Investigative journalist Chip Berlet writes:

When President Bush announced his new foreign policy would help build a New World Order, his phrasing surged through the Christian and secular hard right like an electric shock, since the phrase had been used to represent the dreaded collectivist One World Government for decades.^[10]

Conspiracy theories

There are numerous secular and religious conspiracy theories through which the concept of a New World Order is viewed. The following is a list of the major ones in relatively chronological order:^[11]

"Illuminati" theory

The Order of the Illuminati was an Enlightenment-era secret society, founded on May 1, 1776, in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt (d. 1830),^[12] who was the first lay professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt.^[13] The movement consisted of militant freethinkers, secularists and republicans recruited in the Masonic Lodges of Germany.^[14] In 1785, the order was infiltrated, broken and suppressed by the Bavarian government for allegedly plotting to overthrow the monarchies and state religions of many European states.^[15]

From the late 18th to the mid 20th century, many reactionary conspiracy theorists speculated that the Illuminati survived their suppression and became the masterminds behind major historical events such as the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Russian Revolution. The Illuminati were believed to be orchestrating a world revolution in order to create a secular, anarcho-communist utopia, but that a fatal flaw would pervert it into a dystopia.

From the late 20th to the early 21st century, the term "Illuminati" has come to be used by both far-right and far-left conspiracy theorists to describe any cabal which acts as a shadowy power behind the throne, allegedly controlling world affairs through moles in governments and corporations, in order to create a cryptocratic New World Order. Some, however, speculate that the Yale University-based secret society Skull and Bones is in fact an incarnation or continuation of the historical Bavarian Illuminati.^[16]

"Novus Ordo Seclorum" theory

The phrase "novus ordo seclorum", appearing on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States since 1782 and on the back of the United States one-dollar bill since 1935, means "New Order of the Ages" and only alludes to the beginning of an era where the United States is an independent nation-state, but is sometimes improperly translated as "New World Order" or "New Secular Order".^[17]

Many Anti-Masons believe that high-ranking Freemasons are involved in conspiracies to create a Novus Ordo Seclorum - an occult New World Order. These theorists claim that some of the Founding Fathers of the United States, such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, had Masonic symbolism interwoven into American society, particularly in the Great Seal of the United States, the one-dollar bill, the architecture of National Mall landmarks, and the streets and highways of Washington, D.C., in order to mystically bind their planning of a government in conformity with the will of the Great Architect of the Universe, whom they believe has tasked the United States with the eventual establishment of a hermetic "Kingdom of God on Earth".^[18]

Freemasons rebut these claims of Masonic conspiracy. They assert that Freemasonry, which promotes natural theology through esotericism, places no power in occult symbols themselves. It is not a part of Freemasonry to view the drawing of symbols, no matter how large, as an act of consolidating or controlling power. Furthermore, there is no published information establishing the Masonic membership of the men responsible for the design of the Great Seal or the street plan of Washington, D.C.^[19][20]

More broadly, Freemasons assert that a long-standing rule within regular Freemasonry is a prohibition on the discussion of politics in a Masonic Lodge and the participation of lodges or Masonic bodies in political pursuits. Freemasonry has no politics, but it teaches its members to be active citizens. The accusation that Freemasonry has a hidden agenda to establish a Masonic government ignores several facts. While agreeing on certain Masonic Landmarks, the many independent and sovereign Grand Lodges act as such, and do not agree on many other points of belief and practice.^[21]

Also, as can be seen from a survey of Freemasons who were great men, individual Freemasons hold beliefs that span the spectrum of politics. The term "masonic government" has no meaning since individual Freemasons hold many different opinions on what constitutes a good government, and Freemasonry as a body has no opinion on the topic.^[22] Ultimately, Freemasons argue that even if it were proven that influential individuals have used and are using Masonic Lodges to engage in crypto-politics, such as was the case with the covert Italian Lodge Propaganda Due, this would represent a cooptation of Freemasonry rather than evidence of its hidden agenda.

"Protocols of the Elders of Zion" theory

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is an antisemitic canard, published in 1903, alleging a Judaeo-Masonic conspiracy to achieve world domination. It has been proven by respected international scholars, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to be a hoax as well as a clear case of plagiarism. There is general agreement that the Okhrana, the secret police of the Russian Empire, fabricated the text in the late 1890s or early 1900s by plagiarizing it, almost word for word in some passages, from a 19th century satire against Napoleon III of France originally written by Maurice Joly, a French Legitimist.^[23] Responsible for feeding the antisemitic and anti-Masonic hysterias of the 20th century, The Protocols propagandized the idea that a cabal of Jewish masterminds, which has coopted Freemasonry, is plotting to rule the world on behalf of all Jews because they believe themselves to be the chosen people of God.^[24]

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is widely considered to be influential in the development of other conspiracy theories (such as the notion of a Zionist Occupation Government), and reappears repeatedly in contemporary conspiracy literature. For example, the authors of the 1982 controversial book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail concluded that The Protocols was the most persuasive piece of evidence for the existence and activities of the Priory of Sion. They speculated that this secret society was working behind the scenes to establish a theocratic "United States of Europe" (politically and religiously unified through the imperial cult of a Merovingian sacred king, who occupies both the throne of Europe and the Holy See) which would become the hyperpower of the 21st century.^[25] The Priory of Sion, itself, has been exhaustively debunked by journalists and scholars as a hoax.^[26]

"Round Table" theory

British official Lionel George Curtis, architect of the Round Table movement, wrote a book in 1938 called The Commonwealth of God in which he advocated that the British Empire and the United States should jointly impose an "Imperial Federation" (and ultra-imperialistic capitalism), which would be presented as being the work of the Christian God:

I feel that when once the Protestant churches had learned to regard the creation of a world commonwealth as an all-important aspect of their work in realizing the Kingdom of God, an international commonwealth in the English-speaking world would come into being in a few generations.^[27][28]

Curtis founded the Royal Institute of International Affairs in June 1919. Two years later its sister organisation, the Council on Foreign Relations, was formed in the United States.

Paleoconservative political commentator Patrick J. Buchanan asserts the Council on Foreign Relations (itself alleged to be a front for the international bankers of finance capitalism, as well as, it is claimed, the inspiration for the founding of many globalist think thanks such as the Trilateral Commission) is behind the New Word Order conspiracy. He claims that an international banking cabal is planning to eventually subvert the independence of the United States of America by subordinating national sovereignty to a reformed and strengthened World Bank with the United Nations as its cosmopolitan democratic facade.^[29]

This theory agrees with left and right-libertarian opinion which views a future world state inevitably leading to bureaucratic collectivism: the state controls the means of production and the allocation of resources, while the surplus ("profit") is distributed among a ruling class of bureaucrats, rather than among the working class. Thus, the system is not truly capitalist, but it is not socialist either.^[30][31]

American banker David Rockefeller joined the Council on Foreign Relations as its youngest-ever directr in 1949 and subsequently became chairman of the board from 1970 to 1985; today he serves as honorary chairman. In 2002, Rockefeller authored his autobiography Memoirs wherein, on page 405, he facetiously writes:

For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents ... to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.

The focus on the Council of Foreign Relations is the latest version of the Round Table theory that has the Anglo-American establishment plotting from 1900 on to rule the world. The research findings of historian Carroll Quigley, an expert on the Establishment, were taken by conspiracy theorists to substantiate this view, even though he denied that the Establishment is involved in a plot to achieve world domination.^[32]

Critics argue the Council on Foreign Relations is in fact a mere policy discussion forum. It has nearly 3,000 members, far too many for secret plans to be kept within the group. All the council does is sponsor discussion groups, debates and speakers. As far as being secretive, it issues annual reports and allows access to its historical archives. Historical studies of the council show that it has a very different role in the overall power structure than what is claimed by conspiracy theorists.^[1]

"Open Conspiracy" theory

In his 1928 book The Open Conspiracy English writer H. G. Wells called for the intelligentsia of the West to organize a global citizens movement for the establishment of a global federation of strengthened and democratized global institutions with plenary constitutional power accountable to the global citizens and a division of international authority among separate global agencies.^[33]

Wells warned, however, in his 1940 book The New World Order that:

... when the struggle seems to be drifting definitely towards a world social democracy, there may still be very great delays and disappointments before it becomes an efficient and beneficent world system. Countless people ... will hate the new world order ... and will die protesting against it. When we attempt to evaluate its promise, we [must] bear in mind the distress of a generation or so of malcontents, many of them quite gallant and graceful-looking people."^[34]

Right-wing critics and conspiracy theorists fear that a global social democracy would eventually enact the principles of world communism albeit through reformist, rather than revolutionary means.

"Externalization of the Hierarchy" theory

English occultist Alice Bailey, one of the controversial founders of the New Age movement, predicted in 1940 the victory of the Allies of World War II over the Axis powers and the eventual establishment by the Allies of a synarchist New World Order. She saw this world government as the culmination of Wells' Open Conspiracy but argued that it was guided by ascended masters intent on bringing humanity to a higher level of civilization.^[35]

However, in 1997, Rabbi Yonassan Gershom, in an article titled "Anti-Semitic Stereotypes in Alice Bailey's Writings," pointed out that Bailey's "Plan for the New World Order" called for "the gradual dissolution - again if in any way possible - of the Orthodox Jewish faith," which, he said, indicated that "her goal is nothing less than the destruction of Judaism itself."^[36]

"End Time" theory

Many millenarian Christian theologians and laymen include a dominant religious element to New World Order conspiracy theory based on prophecies about the "end time" in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Ezekiel, the Book of Daniel, the Olivet discourse found in the Synoptic Gospels, and the Book of Revelation. They assert that human and demonic agents of the Devil are involved in a primordial conspiracy to deceive humanity into accepting a satanic world theocracy that has the Unholy Trinity - Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet - at the core of an imperial cult.

The Late, Great Planet Earth, a 1970 book co-authored by Hal Lindsey and Carole C. Carlson, is a popular treatment of such literalist, premillennial, dispensational Christian eschatology. With its unprecedented popularity, the book set the stage for both greater awareness of end time scenarios in the last decades of the 20th century, and the growth industry in Christian popular eschatological works such as Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series of novels.

Preterist Christian critics of the End Time theory argue that some or all of the biblical prophecies concerning the end time refer literally or metaphorically to events which already happened in the first century after Jesus' birth. In their view, the "end time" concept refers to the end of the covenant between God and Israel, rather than the end of time, or the end of planet Earth. They argue that prophecies about the Rapture, the defiling of the Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, the Antichrist, the Number of the Beast, the Tribulation, the Second Coming, and the Last Judgment were fulfilled at or about the year 70 when the Roman general (and future Emperor) Titus sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Jewish Temple, putting a permanent stop to the daily animal sacrifices.

According to such critics, many passages in the New Testament indicate with apparent certainty that the second coming of Christ, and the end time predicted in the Bible were to take place within the lifetimes of Jesus' disciples rather than millenniums later: Matt. 10:23, Matt. 16:28, Matt. 24:34, Matt. 26:64, Rom. 13:11-12, 1 Cor. 7:29-31, 1 Cor. 10:11, Phil. 4:5, James 5:8-9, 1 Pet. 4:7, 1 Jn. 2:18.

"Fourth Reich" theory

Investigative reporter Jim Marrs argues that some surviving members of Germany's Third Reich, along with sympathizers in the United States and elsewhere, given safe haven by organizations like ODESSA and Die Spinne, have been working behind the scenes since the end of World War II to enact at least some of the principles of Nazism (e.g. military-industrial complex, imperialism, widespread spying on citizens, use of corporations and propaganda to control national interests and ideas) into culture, government, and business worldwide, but primarily in the United States. He cites the acquisition and creation of conglomerates by Nazis and their sympathizers after the war, in both Europe and the U.S.^[37]

This neo-Nazi conspiracy is said to be animated by an "Iron Dream" in which the United States and/or the European Union gradually establishes a "Fourth Reich", known as the "Western Imperium", by imposing a "New Order" - a pan-Aryan world empire encompassing lands with prominent Aryan ties (Europe, Russia, Anglo-America, Australia, New Zealand, and Southern South America).^[37]

"Empire" theory

Many far-left conspiracy theorists are influenced by post-Marxist intellectuals who postulate that the late 20th and early 21st century is a period of transition from the American Empire to the rule of a global ruling class, which they call "Empire" (instead of New World Order). They argue that, since every ruling class, transnational or otherwise, requires its own state to enforce its will, the completion of the transition from the American Empire to Empire will require the creation of a transnational state to efficiently manage imperialistic globalization and enforce the neofeudal rule of the global ruling class. As a superclass fully emerges, the American Empire will dissolve and a transnational state will take its place as global enforcer. This transnational state will probably take the form of an international institution with direct control over it’s own military forces. It would use that military to act as a global cop, suppressing any resistance to the global ruling class and ensuring it can continue to rule.

Nation-states would be demoted to local administrators and enforcers, subordinated to the rule of international institutions. They will probably continue to exist for some time after the complete emergence of Empire, as the division of the working class into different nationalities is far too helpful to the ruling class for them to give it up without a fight. The transnational state would be used to ensure that each nation-state does not get out of line, suppress any kind of popular rebellion, destroy non-state actors that threaten the global ruling class, and generally diffuse any other situation that could threaten the neofeudal rule of the transnational capitalist class (civil wars, failing states, etc.).^[38]

"Alien Invasion" theory

Conspiracy theory in the late 20th century and early 21st century allows for the addition of many ideas that in the past might have been thought to be science fiction. Aliens (either the "Greys" or the "Reptilians" or both) have been included in the New World Order conspiracy, in more or less dominant roles, as in the theory put forward by British writer David Icke. The common theme in such theories is that aliens have been among us for decades, centuries or millennia, but a government cover-up has protected the public from such knowledge. The alien race plans to invade Earth through a manipulation of historical events and famous figures. In some theories, alien invaders have taken human form and move freely throughout human society, even to the point of taking control of command positions. A covert government agency of the United States code-named Majestic 12 is often cited as being the shadow government which collaborates with the alien invasion.^{[citation needed]}

Critics argue that the convergence of UFO conspiracy theory and New World Order conspiracy theory coincides with the era's widespread mistrust of governments and the belief in the extraterrestrial hypothesis to explain unidentified flying objects.

Postulated implementations

Just as there are several overlapping or conflicting theories among conspiracy theorists about the nature of the New World Order, so are there several beliefs about how its architects and planners will implement it:

Gradualism

Some conspiracy theorists speculate that the New World Order is being implemented gradually, citing the formation of the U.S. Federal Reserve System in 1913; the International Monetary Fund in 1944; the United Nations in 1945; the World Bank in 1945; the World Health Organization in 1948; the European Union and the euro currency in 1993; the World Trade Organization in 1998; and the African Union in 2002 as major milestones.

In particular, paleoconservative talk radio host and documentary filmmaker Alex Jones claims in his film Endgame that the theoretical North American Union and the amero currency will be an implementation of the New World Order orchestrated by the Bilderberg Group.^[39]

In March 2009, as a result of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, China and Russia have pressed for urgent consideration of a world currency and a UN panel has proposed greatly expanding the IMF's Special Drawing Rights. Despite having been strongly rejected by the United States thereby making its implementation impossible, conspiracy theorists have fixated on the mere proposal of a global currency as vindication of their beliefs about an eventual supranational currency for the New World Order.

Coup d'état and martial law

Some conspiracy theorists, especially those associated with the United States militia movement, speculate that the New World Order will be implemented by martial law after a dramatic coup d'état, using UN peacekeepers and black helicopters, against all nation-states to bring about a world government. Before year 2000 some theorists believed this process would be set in motion by the predicted Y2K problem causing societal collapse.^[40] After the September 11 attacks, some have become convinced that a more catastrophic terrorist incident will be responsible for triggering this process. ^[41] They often speculate that the refugee camps of emergency management agencies such as FEMA would be used to intern suspected political dissidents and subversives.

Surveillance-industrial complex

Some secular and religious conspiracy theorists believe that the New World Order will be created by the surveillance-industrial complex, often called "Big Brother", through the use of Social Security numbers, and the bar-coding of retail goods with Universal Product Code markings, and, most recently, RFID tagging. Consumer privacy advocates Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre, authors of Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID, wrote another book on the subject from a Christian perspective, which associates spychips with the Number of the Beast mentioned in the Book of Revelation.^[42] Christian conservative political activist Mark Dice, leader of an organization called "The Resistance of Christ," also believes there is a strong connection.^[43][44][45]

"Externalization of the Hierarchy"

In Alice Bailey's conspiracy theories, a group of ascended masters called the Great White Brotherhood works on the "inner planes" to oversee humanity's transition to the New World Order. At present, the members of this Spiritual Hierarchy are only known to a few people, with whom they communicate telepathically, but as the need for their personal involvement in the plan increases, there will be an "Externalization of the Hierarchy" and all people will know of their presence on Earth.^[46]

Alleged conspirators

In the controversial 2008 book Superclass - The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making, David Rothkopf argues that the world population of 6 billion people is governed by an elite of 6000 individuals. Until the late 20th century, governments of the great powers provided most of the superclass, accompanied by a few heads of international movements (i.e., the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church) and entrepreneurs (Rothschilds, Rockefellers). In the early 21st century, economic clout — fueled by the explosive expansion of international trade, travel and communication — rules. The nation-state's power has diminished shrinking politicians to minority power broker status. Leaders in international business, finance and the defense industry not only dominate the superclass, they move freely into high positions in their nations' governments and back to private life largely beyond the notice of elected legislatures (including the U.S. Congress), which remain abysmally ignorant of affairs beyond their borders. The superclass' disproportionate influence over national policy is always self-interested. Across the world, few object to corruption and oppressive governments provided they can do business in these countries.

Conspiracy theorists go further than Rothkopf, and other scholars who have studied the global ruling class, by claiming that members of the superclass who belong to the Bilderberg Group, the Bohemian Club, the Club of Rome, the Council on Foreign Relations, Skull and Bones, the Trilateral Commission, and similar think tanks and private clubs, are conspiring to create a bureaucratic collectivist New World Order through the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other international organizations. Critics counter the superclass is only interested in imposing a neoliberal (or corporatocratic) form of economic globalization through treaties such as the failed Multilateral Agreement on Investment, and that most of the cited international organizations are weak, or weakening, and are hemorrhaging credibility.

Criticism

Critics of New World Order conspiracy theories accuse its proponents of conspiracism: a paranoid world view that centrally places conspiracy theories in the unfolding of history, rather than social and economic forces.^[47]

G. William Domhoff, a research professor in psychology and sociology who studies theories of power, writes in a March 2005 essay entitled There Are No Conspiracies:

There are several problems with a conspiratorial view that don't fit with what we know about power structures. First, it assumes that a small handful of wealthy and highly educated people somehow develop an extreme psychological desire for power that leads them to do things that don't fit with the roles they seem to have. For example, that rich capitalists are no longer out to make a profit, but to create a one-world government. Or that elected officials are trying to get the constitution suspended so they can assume dictatorial powers. These kinds of claims go back many decades now, and it is always said that it is really going to happen this time, but it never does. Since these claims have proved wrong dozens of times by now, it makes more sense to assume that leaders act for their usual reasons, such as profit-seeking motives and institutionalized roles as elected officials. Of course they want to make as much money as they can, and be elected by huge margins every time, and that can lead them to do many unsavory things, but nothing in the ballpark of creating a one-world government or suspending the constitution.

Second, the conspiratorial view assumes that the behind-the-scenes leaders are extremely clever and knowledgeable, whereas social science and historical research shows that leaders often make shortsighted or mistaken decisions due to the limits placed on their thinking by their social backgrounds and institutional roles. When these limits are exposed through stupid mistakes, such as the failure of the CIA at the Bay of Pigs during the Kennedy Administration, then conspiratorial theorists assert that the leaders failed on purpose to fool ordinary people.

Third, the conspiratorial view places power in the hands of only a few dozen or so people, often guided by one strong leader, whereas sociologists who study power say that there is a leadership group of many thousands for a set of wealth-owning families that numbers several million. Furthermore, the sociological view shows that the groups or classes below the highest levels buy into the system in various ways and support it. For example, highly trained professionals in medicine, law, and academia have considerable control over their own lives, make a good living, and usually enjoy their work, so they go along with the system even though they do not have much political power.

Fourth, the conspiratorial view often assumes that clever experts ("pointy-headed intellectuals") with bizarre and grandiose ideas have manipulated the thinking of their hapless bosses. But studies of policy-making suggest that experts work within the context of the values and goals set out by the leaders, and that they are ignored or replaced if they step outside the consensus (which is signaled by saying they have become overly abstract, idealistic, or even, frankly, "pinko").

Finally, the conspiratorial view assumes that illegal plans to change the government or assassinate people can be kept secret for long periods of time, but all evidence shows that secret groups or plans in the United States are uncovered by civil liberties groups, infiltrated by reporters or government officials, and written about in the press. Even secrets about wars and CIA operations -- Vietnam, the Contras, the rationales for Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003 -- are soon exposed for everyone to see. As for assassinations and assassination attempts in the United States, from McKinley to Franklin D. Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy to Martin Luther King, Jr., to Robert F. Kennedy to Reagan, they have been the acts of individuals with no connections to any power groups.

Because all their underlying assumptions are discredited by historical events and media exposures, no conspiracy theory is credible on any issue. If there is corporate domination, it is through leaders in visible positions within the corporate community, the policy planning network, and the government. If there is class domination, it is through the same mundane processes that social scientists have shown to be operating for other levels of the socioeconomic system.

Even though there are no conspiracies, it is also true that government officials sometimes take illegal actions or try to deceive the public. [...] It is also true that the CIA has been involved in espionage, sabotage, and the illegal overthrow of foreign governments, and that the FBI spied on and attempted to disrupt Marxist third parties, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Ku Klux Klan. But careful studies show that all these actions were authorized by top government officials, which is the critical point here. There was no "secret team" or "shadow government" committing illegal acts or ordering government officials to deceive the public and disrupt social movements. Such a distinction is crucial in differentiating all sociological theories of power from a conspiratorial one.^[1]

Further reading

The following is a list of notable published books by New World Order conspiracy theorists:

• Cuddy (1999). Secret Records Revealed: The Men, The Money and The Methods Behind the New World Order. Hearthstone Publishing, Ltd.. ISBN 1-57558-031-4. 
• Abraham, Larry (1988) [1971]. Call it Conspiracy. Double a Publications. ISBN 0-9615550-1-7. 
• Still, William T. (1990). New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies. Huntington House Publishers. ISBN 0-910311-64-1. 
• Cooper, Milton William (1991). Behold a Pale Horse. Light Technology Publications. ISBN 0-929385-22-5. 
• Robertson, Pat (1992). The New World Order. W Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8499-3394-3. 
• Wardner, James (1994) [1993]. The Planned Destruction of America. Longwood Communications. ISBN 0-9632190-5-7. 
• Keith, Jim (1995). Black Helicopters over America: Strikeforce for the New World Order. Illuminet Press. ISBN 1-881532-05-4. 
• Jones, Alan B. (2001) [1997]. Secrecy or Freedom?. ABJ Press. ISBN 0-9640848-2-1. 
• Gray, John (2000) [1998]. False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism. New Press. ISBN 1-56584-592-7. 
• Bearden, Tom (2004) [2000]. Energy from the Vacuum: Concepts & Principles. Cheniere Press. ISBN 0-9725146-0-0. 
• Marrs, Jim (2001). Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-093184-1. 
• Lina, Jüri, "Under the Sign of the Scorpion: The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire", Stockholm, 2002 (Second, Enlarged Edition).
• Lina, Jüri. Architects of Deception: the Concealed History of Freemasonry. Stockholm, 2004, originally written in Swedish, title "Världbyggarnas bedrägeri: frimurarnas dolda historia".
• Madisson, Tiit. New World Order: The Concealed Acting of Judaists and Freemasons at Subdueing the World's Nations and Countries, written in Estonian, original title: "Maailma Uus Kord: judaistide ja vabamüürlaste varjatud tegevus rahvaste ning riikide allutamisel". Lihula, 2004.
• Wilson, Robert Anton. Everything is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups. New York: 1998, Harper-Perennial.
• Bollier, David (2005). Brand Name Bullies: The Quest to Own and Control Culture. Wiley. ISBN 0471679275. 
• Tedford, Cody. Powerful Secrets. Hannover, 2008. ISBN 1-4241-9263-3

References

External links

• Illuminati Conspiracy Archive