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Thoughtful Economic Analysis and Existential Opinions
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The Golden Age of Conspiracies

Conspiracy theories are fashionable these days.  Most psychologists suggest that some people are more susceptible to conspiracy theories than other people.  That may be, but I suspect existentialists are the least susceptible.

One of the few things I remember from high school physics is that atoms are in constant motion, colliding randomly with other atoms.  The atoms don’t go into a back room and decide anything.  They just keeping bouncing randomly.  To me, that explained the truth behind the world’s most famous bumper sticker — “Stuff Happens” . . . or something like that.

Existentialists see themselves and others as individuals who live alone and die alone.  We may live with others but we are alone in our minds.  We are autonomous beings bumping into each other.  Sometimes, we will “draft” each other in the NASCAR sense.  Sometimes, one of us may change the trajectory of another.  But, we remain solitary individuals.

Of course, that does not mean minor conspiracies might not exist for some period of time, only that major conspiracies cannot exist for long periods.  Some people understand the easiest way to get your fifteen minutes of fame is to expose your fellow conspirators.  Just as the secret to the atom bomb could not remain secret, conspiracies cannot remain secret.  Telling me that Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy between the Mafia & Castro is a waste of breath.  Likewise, telling me that Hillary Clinton is running a nationwide pedophilia ring is also a waste of breath.

Conspiracy theories may provide a sense of structure in a random world . . . but not realism.