The Science of Conspiracy Theories

Custom

Custom

This could also be called Norm or Tradition. Basically, it's what we would call social values. Why do we have these rules? The answer to this question has a lot to do with what we consider constitutes conspiracy.

The question is difficult to answer, but it goes back to the early societies where a method of keeping order involved enforcing social norms in order to prevent deviant behavior.

But, what is normal behavior? It all depends upon whom you ask, but there is a basic background to what most people consider normal behavior. In fact, most human behavior has been regulated by means of laws, and it's easy to understand why this happened. Without law there would be utter chaos. Human nature would dictate that there would be unabated murder, rape and combat without a legal system to stop it.

After one moves away from what most people consider crime, one gets into the gray area of human social behavior. This is where one must consider how we acquire opinions on what is acceptable behavior.

Most of our opinions about what's acceptable come from our parents, teachers and ministers, priests,  or Inman and coaches or other father figures. It's drilled into our heads. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that we'll keep those opinions when we grow older. But, there is no doubt that we learned these norms when we were young.

Take for example, clothing. At one time, people dressed formally for many situations like church. Now that custom is not necessarily followed. The change happened with a loss of respect for institutions and a trend towards casual attire.

Why is long hair always acceptable for women but not men? The reason is tradition. It wasn't always that way. Back in the 17th and 18th centuries men often wore their hair long. It appears that the militaristic era of world wars changed that. Short hair was used to control army recruits, and that idea leaked out into the general population. Thank the Beatles for changing that.

So, it comes down to what most people consider ethical behavior. Some consider wealthy people to be dishonest. They forget that capitalism creates wealth through hard work and persistence. Making a profit is considered normal in business. What's not acceptable is cheating and dishonesty. This is the point where conspiracy creeps into the equation. Plotting to control industry or government for the purpose of creating wealth is wrong, and when it's done in secrete it's the reason for conspiracy theories.

Thus, we could say that conspiracy theories are the result of deviant behavior by people in power. Makes sense to me.

Thanks for reading.