Since I became a libertarian five years ago, and especially since I became an anarchist about 2 years ago, I've come across a lot of people who are completely obsessed with groups who secretly hold all the power.
It makes sense that there's a lot of overlap between conspiracy theorists and libertarians/anarchists. A distrust of government and their narratives leads people to go to other sources to find the truth. Conversely, a belief in conspiracy theories would breed a distrust of governments or anyone who holds power. I'll let that word serve as a lead-in to my point...
Seriously.
Frankly, none of these seem any more dangerous that those whom the general public accepts as the powers-that-be. Our "representatives" (I vomit in my mouth a little bit every time that word is used) routinely pollute, extort, kidnap, rape, abuse, and commit mass murder. Are these crimes somehow worse when they're committed by the hand of some secret Big Bad?
As long as any man or group holds power over anyone else, there will be systematic abuse.
This is why I don't obsess over any conspiracy theories. It doesn't make a difference who's holding the stick, because the results are the same; I end up beaten. What's far more important to me is getting out from under the hand of my abuser.
Authority is derived from the collective delusion that some men have the right to rule over others. We will have rulers as long as people continue to believe in this myth.
From what I've seen, I think this obsession with the secret rulers of the world distracts from the real problem. Those caught up in these conspiracy theories, even anarchists, seem to have a mindset that these rulers are somehow less legitimate than the public face of government because they operate from the shadows. The real truth is that all governments are illegitimate. Operating publicly isn't any more legitimate or virtuous than operating in secret when the entire job is violent domination.
They are all the same, and because of that the solution is always the same:
You can find freedom by recognizing the reality that you are not owned by anyone but yourself. As more and more people come to terms with this irrefutable truth of human existence, there will be no power large enough to dominate us. No Illuminati, no New World Order and no lizard people are strong enough to force 7 billion free people into submission.
~Seth
P.S. I'm not saying that a world free of government will be a utopia. There will always be individuals who seek power and who want to hurt others. But when we stop believing that anyone has the right to those things, the abusers will have a much more difficult time accomplishing their goals on a large scale.
IMAGE SOURCES
Banner Image - Composed by me from these photos: 1, 2, 3, 4
New World Order Committee - The Last American Vagabond
Broken Chains - Pinterest
