Reply #6: A conspiracy is also a working together "as if" by sinister [View All]

[Land Shark]

design. Dictionary.com uses a "conspiracy of wind and..." as an example in definition 4 of conspiracy. Thus, the illegal element need not be express to use the term in the English language, i.e. there need not be a true criminal or subversive element at all.

The illegal element need not be criminal either, since there are civil conspiracies in addition to criminal conspiracies.

Objecting to the main post above misses its educational content: conspiracies in the sense of people working together are an awfully common thing. If one adds even a bit of civil or criminal illegality, you have a proper use of the legal term conspiracy, (as an allegation at least), which is its core definition. It may fail of proof, but the usage of the word is proper at that point.

Another important thing about the cultural function of "conspiracy theory" as an attack on others is that it is used to seemingly discredit those who publicly talk about what has been deliberately kept secret by others.

Thus, with regard to matters deliberately kept secret, one is necessarily faced with a choice of saying nothing, being a "conspiracy theorist" for thinking about connections and possibilities, or having a middle position of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" because to stray into the area of making any inferences would be to subject oneself to criticism as a "conspiracy theorist".

It's one way to shut people up while still claiming to have freedom of speech and thought. One would think that a healthy respect for freedom of expression would result in the response to "conspiracy theory" being factual rebuttal, and not a version of mockery.