I think conspiracy theories are an artifact of 19th-20th c. institutions specifically designed to diffuse responsibility. Various off-site things are done by companies instead of governments, so the governments have political cover–it’s just the measure of regulation that ends up in dispute. Companies themselves are specifically designed to diffuse liability from the owners. etc.

I’m not saying everyone is responsible for everything (e.g. the ‘Not my government’ shout in protesting the US administration). But, like companies can be liable for policies that encourage, say, racist behavior, larger institutions should become more responsible for the social consequences of how these are set up.

This is all to say that institutions are often created specifically to trap any rhetorical critique in the form of a dismissable ‘conspiracy theory.’ So whether there’s a conspiracy or not, it’s evidence that the system’s wrong.

While I’m willing to agree that we seek intentionality, I think there’s genius in our curiosity. I’m willing to take that along with some humble pie that we’re not the only species that seeks patters.