So where did this impulse for conspiracy arise? Well, it's always been with us, suspicion, a tinge of paranoia, sometimes fanned by the actual practices of groups and governments. Sometimes encouraged by them as a means of empowerment. More often the stuff of prejudice and manipulation. Still, as not all conspiracy is imaginative fiction it becomes problematic for many, especially those inclined to see shadows and lacking any real training in the use of analytical skill sets, to determine when the charges reflect reality and when they only play to bias.
Historically, conspiracy theories have been of real service to the crown, invested in creating enemies that invoke fear and suspicion of the other. From Hun to Jap to Muslim, that service has continued. Conspiracy theory was effectively used against the Jew by various European powers for generations, culminating in the butcher's work of Hitler and his ilk. In the U.S. it was a bulwark against culture shock born of a people who went from horseback to the moon within living memory of many. Seeing the moon landing as a hoax was a way of denying an ascendency of science within a culture where that science had been portrayed as an enemy of faith and tradition, in near conspiratorial tones. Not long after the moon landing, the Kennedy assassination became a way for many soured by a seeming never ending series of wars and conflicts draining the coffers of their nation while filling the coffers of the military industrial complex to focus their suspicion and unease.
It's the rage of political advance today. Numerous media outlets are called the purveyors of "fake news". RINOs are lurking in the shadows to be rooted out. Some leaders appear dedicated to supplanting every institution of meaning by casting shadows on everything that fails to proceed from their mouths. It's a dangerous time in the life of the Republic, where a great deal of noble experiment is undermined by whispers predicated on less than observable fact. It's a dangerous time to entertain the mostly foolish foundation of conspiracy as anything but the exceptional advance requiring substantive, empirical, and measurable support.