Conspiracy Denial: Evidence-Free, A-historical, and Astonishing Claims
How Proven Conspiracies Contradict the Myth of Government Incompetence
Author’s Preface
From time to time over the last few decades, I've read assertions that deep state conspiracies can't exist because the government is too incompetent to do successful deep state conspiracies. I read one such set of views today in the comments on a fellow sub-stacker’s post.
This is really quite an astonishing claim, evidence-free and a-historical. There's so much evidence contradicting that view worldwide, throughout time, throughout history, and it's hard to believe anyone could actually believe such things, but they do. I suspect them of either being idiots or agents of disinformation. I don't know which. Too be precise and technical, they are full of crap.
Introduction
The notion that governments are too incompetent to orchestrate conspiracies is a claim so widely repeated that it has become an article of faith among skeptics. Yet, this assertion is not only evidence-free but also profoundly a-historical. Governments and intelligence agencies have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to execute complex, covert operations involving secrecy, planning, and manipulation.
This essay examines the false premise of government incompetence, contrasts it with historical evidence of conspiracies, and discusses the psychological and political motivations behind dismissing conspiracy theories. By presenting well-documented examples, the essay highlights the need for critical thinking and challenges the simplistic dismissal of conspiratorial possibilities.
Discussion: The Evidence Against Denial
1. Historical Precedents for Conspiracies
Governments have a long history of engaging in conspiratorial behaviour. The following illustrative cases highlight how such actions have been planned and executed:
John Perkins’ Economic Hitmen – Used debt and economic coercion to destabilize developing nations for corporate and geopolitical gain.
Operation Gladio – NATO-backed secret armies conducted false-flag attacks to discredit left-wing groups and manipulate public opinion.
Henry Kissinger in Chile – The CIA facilitated the overthrow of Salvador Allende to impose a dictatorship aligned with U.S. interests.
Iran-Contra Affair – The Reagan administration bypassed Congress to fund Nicaraguan rebels using illegal arms sales to Iran.
MKUltra – The CIA conducted illegal experiments involving drugs, hypnosis, and mind control without subjects’ consent.
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment – U.S. researchers knowingly withheld treatment from Black men suffering from syphilis, exploiting them as test subjects.
Each of these examples demonstrates deliberate, secretive, and highly coordinated actions that contradict the myth of governmental incompetence.
2. State Crimes Against Democracy (SCADs): An Academic Field
Far from being the domain of fringe theorists, the study of State Crimes Against Democracy (SCADs) has emerged as a legitimate, peer-reviewed academic discipline. Scholars in this field investigate how governments subvert democratic processes through covert actions, disinformation campaigns, and orchestrated crises.
Key SCAD Examples:
JFK Assassination – Evidence suggests elements of the CIA, organized crime, and military-industrial interests were involved in the assassination, circumventing democracy.
Watergate Scandal – President Nixon’s operatives engaged in illegal break-ins and cover-ups, exposing systemic corruption at the highest levels of government.
Election Tampering – Covert interference in foreign and domestic elections, including alleged manipulations during the Cold War, demonstrates a willingness to undermine democracy.
Respectability and Peer Review
SCAD studies focus on documented cases rather than speculative claims. The field emphasizes empirical evidence, legal analysis, and peer-reviewed scholarship. Articles appear in respected journals, and researchers emphasize transparency and rigor, countering the idea that conspiracy studies are inherently illegitimate.
By treating conspiracy investigations as serious academic inquiries, SCAD researchers bridge the gap between skepticism and evidence, legitimizing questions about democracy’s vulnerability to subversion.
3. Government Secrecy: The Myth of Incompetence
The Manhattan Project: Keeping Secrets on a Massive Scale
One of the most striking examples of governmental competence and secrecy is the Manhattan Project—the World War II program that developed the atomic bomb.
Scale and Secrecy:
Over 130,000 people worked on the project at multiple sites, yet its purpose remained secret until the bombing of Hiroshima.Compartmentalization:
Workers were only given information necessary for their specific roles, ensuring security.Disinformation Campaigns:
False narratives were spread to mislead potential spies and the public.
This level of secrecy, coordination, and discipline demonstrates that governments are neither too incompetent nor too leaky to maintain conspiracies. Instead, it illustrates how compartmentalized operations can succeed, especially when the stakes are high.
4. Control of Media and Suppression of Dissent
Mainstream Media Collusion
Governments and corporations have historically maintained influence over the media to control narratives and shape public opinion. Investigations like Operation Mockingbird revealed how the CIA placed journalists within major news outlets to plant stories favorable to U.S. intelligence objectives.
Modern Media Consolidation: A handful of corporations now own the majority of major media outlets, reducing diversity of viewpoints and centralizing control over information.
Coordinated Messaging: Leaks and whistleblower accounts show that intelligence agencies coordinate closely with journalists to influence headlines and suppress damaging revelations.
Social Media Manipulation
The advent of social media has amplified this control:
Censorship Algorithms: Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube actively suppress dissenting voices through shadow-banning, demonetization, and content removal.
Government Partnerships: Leaked documents, including those from the Twitter Files, reveal partnerships between social media companies and intelligence agencies to monitor and suppress speech under the guise of combating “misinformation.”
Surveillance Programs: Edward Snowden’s revelations exposed widespread collaboration between tech companies and intelligence agencies like the NSA to spy on citizens.
These mechanisms illustrate how modern governments use advanced technologies not only for surveillance but also for narrative enforcement, undermining claims of incompetence.
5. Psychological and Political Factors Behind Denial
Dismissing conspiracies often serves psychological and political purposes:
Cognitive Dissonance: Accepting the reality of conspiracies undermines trust in authority, creating discomfort many seek to avoid.
Naïve Idealism: Belief in government transparency and benevolence fosters a resistance to darker truths.
Propaganda and Disinformation: Intelligence agencies actively shape narratives to discredit whistleblowers and investigative journalists.
Control Through Mockery: Labeling skeptics as “conspiracy theorists” isolates dissenters and discourages inquiry.
Summary: Conspiracies Are Not Theoretical—They’re Historical
History leaves little room for doubt—conspiracies are not only plausible but demonstrably real. From political assassinations and economic manipulations to false-flag operations and illegal experimentation, governments and agencies have shown themselves capable of organizing large-scale covert actions.
The claim that such conspiracies are impossible due to incompetence fails to grapple with the realities of intelligence work, black operations, and compartmentalized secrecy. Furthermore, dismissing conspiracy theories often reflects psychological defense mechanisms or deliberate disinformation efforts rather than reasoned skepticism.
Final Thoughts: A Challenge to Skepticism
The real question is not whether conspiracies occur but how many remain undiscovered. Those who reject this possibility outright are not engaging with evidence but defending comforting illusions. Whether driven by ignorance or intent, such denials perpetuate the very vulnerabilities conspiracies exploit.