Conspiracy Theory and Class Analysis: Imperialist Covert Operations in the Context of the Class Struggle

(Bangladesh ASF)

Introduction

The bourgeoisie conspires against the working class. The capitalists and imperialists do not make public their plans to suppress workers’ struggles or to subjugate nations. On the contrary, they depend on a high level of secrecy to maintain their class dominance over the workers and the poor.

Just as there are many misconceptions today about the nature of the class struggle, there are many misconceptions about the nature of conspiracies and covert operations. In order to liberate humanity from its current miserable condition of oppression and exploitation at the hands of the imperialist bourgeoisie, in order to achieve revolutionary victory over the bourgeoisie, the working class must understand the true nature of the class struggle. The class struggle involves countless covert operations, countless conspiracies, carried out by agents of imperialism, many of which are directly aimed at the left and all of which serve to maintain or expand imperialist hegemony. Indeed, the class struggle is a class war, and as the famous military strategist Sun Tzu observed, “All warfare is based upon deception.”[2]

With their vast corporate propaganda apparatus, the imperialists are able to manipulate public opinion in both the exploiter countries of the Global North and the exploited countries of the Global South by saturating the media with disinformation[3] to obscure their true intentions and activities, their crimes and conspiracies. The imperialists have even gone so far as to weaponize the term “conspiracy theory” in order to deceive the masses.[4] Today in Western society, to point out the lies of imperialism means to be labeled a “conspiracy theorist.” This is not surprising given the imperialists’ aim of preventing the formation of a strong left by keeping the masses misinformed and misguided.

What is news today becomes history tomorrow. The false narratives generated by imperialist propaganda are eventually written into the history textbooks in the imperialist countries[5], and often in the exploited countries as well. Thus, much of the world’s working class, including the labor aristocracy in the Global North as well as the super-exploited working class in the Global South, holds many false conceptions of history which can only co-exist through a high level of cognitive dissonance—that is to say, many people hold a disjointed, convoluted view of history that does not make logical sense of the facts. This lack of accurate historical knowledge reflects a lack of revolutionary class consciousness among the working class; indeed, it is an integral part of it.

Understanding the schemes of capitalism and imperialism is essential to defeating them, essential to strengthening the working class and the united front against imperialism. Understanding the true nature of imperialist covert operations is essential for the working class to develop the necessary class consciousness to organize and successfully carry out revolution.

What is a Conspiracy?

First, we should be clear that a “conspiracy” is a secret plan by two or more people to carry out an illegal action. According to this definition, a conspiracy exists whenever two people plan to rob a convenience store, or steal a car, or engage in credit card fraud, etc., without making their plans known to others. Conspiracies are, in fact, quite commonplace, and people are routinely prosecuted in court for conspiracies to carry out various types of crimes. Political conspiracies carried out by imperialist military-intelligence agencies include assassinations, false-flag terrorism, and coups d’état, among other things.[6] Imperialist criminal conspiracies will continue to go unpunished until the imperialist bourgeoisie is deposed through global revolution.

The point of political conspiracies is to achieve specific political objectives, to alter the existing political terrain in the interests of the conspirators. All political conspiracies serve to strengthen one class and weaken another within the class struggle. Bourgeois political conspiracies generally serve the interests of the bourgeoisie, and revolutionary political conspiracies generally serve the interests of the working class (although conspiracies can backfire, both in their execution and in their intended political effects).

Of course, most conspirators among the working class are not in a position to generate large amounts of propaganda to exonerate themselves in the eyes of the public, or to manipulate public officials such as police and judges, as members of the ruling class are able to do. Unlike the working class, the criminals that comprise the capitalist ruling class hold powerful positions within vast corporate, government, and military-intelligence networks. They are able to carry out large-scale conspiracies involving sophisticated tactics, major financial backing, and vast propaganda campaigns through the corporate media.

Historical Examples of Counter-Revolutionary Conspiracies

One historical example of a counter-revolutionary political conspiracy is the collusion between Prussian Chancellor Bismarck and French President Thiers in suppressing the Paris Commune in 1871. As Karl Marx observed, “The conspiracy of the ruling class to break down the revolution by a civil war carried on under the patronage of the foreign invader… culminated in the carnage of Paris.”[7] Furthermore, according to Marx, “Armed Paris was the only serious obstacle in the way of the counter-revolutionary conspiracy.”[8] Unfortunately, the revolutionary workers of Paris were insufficiently prepared to deal with the counter-revolutionary conspiracy and the murderous siege that it precipitated, and the Commune was lost, drowned in the blood of the workers.

Another example of a counter-revolutionary conspiracy is the collaboration between Russian tsarist General Kornilov and Minister-Chairman of the Provisional government Alexander Kerensky in attempting to preemptively smash the Petrograd Soviet in 1917 before it could seize power. As Lenin pointed out, “…all the circumstances of the Kornilov conspiracy… have proved that Kerensky was to a very large extent mixed up in the Kornilov affair…”[9]

The military intervention of Western nations including the US, France, Britain, and others against the newly-formed Soviet state in Russia in 1918 also involved a conspiracy: “Their orders were to prepare an armed uprising against the local Soviet administration… aided by counterrevolutionary White Russian conspirators, the British Intelligence agents made the necessary preparations for the rebellion.”[10]

Indeed, the entire counter-revolution in Russia had a conspiratorial nature: “…the Russian liberal-monarchist bourgeois, who, while fearing the ‘excesses’ of tsarist policy, feared the people even more, and therefore resorted to a policy of pleading with the tsar and, consequently, of conspiring with the tsar against the people.”[11] However, unlike the Paris Commune, the revolutionary Soviet state emerged victorious from the counter-revolutionary onslaught. The Soviet workers were more adequately prepared and better organized than the Paris workers, and they were able to defeat the forces of the counter-revolution despite all the secrecy and dirty tricks employed by the imperialists and their co-conspirators.

Whenever the bourgeoisie faces the threat of revolution, it will resort to all sorts of conspiratorial activities to try to reassert its dominance. As Mao told the Chinese people in 1950: “The whole Party and nation must heighten their vigilance against the conspiratorial activities of counter-revolutionaries.”[12] Of course, the bourgeoisie does not need the threat of revolution to engage in shady activities; in general, the acquisition of greater wealth and power necessitates secrecy, cunning, and ruthlessness.

More recent examples of reactionary and counter-revolutionary conspiracies include the 1969 assassination of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in the United States along with the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations against other leftists; the various coups and assassinations targeting the decolonial and revolutionary movements of the 1960s and ’70s in Africa, Latin America, and Asia; the Gulf of Tonkin incident leading to US military escalation in Vietnam; and the Iran-Contra affair involving large-scale US support for the right-wing Contras in Nicaragua.

The purpose of this article is not to examine every imperialist covert operation in order to establish a logical narrative for each one, but to provide a clear explanation of the significance of covert operations and conspiracy theories in relation to the class struggle. The examples listed above should serve as a starting point for considering the breadth of imperialist covert operations and their implications for the class struggle.

Conspiracy Theories

A “conspiracy theory” is a theory which attempts to explain a set of events as resulting from a conspiracy. The science of conspiracy theory is similar to forensic science in that it involves looking for evidence linking the perpetrators to a crime. Although all science is subject to political influence to some degree, conspiracy theory is one of the most convoluted and confusing subjects due to its overtly political nature and the obvious motivation of the imperialist bourgeoisie to suppress the truth about its crimes. Because of this, the subject of conspiracy theory is clouded in disinformation—lies, omissions, distortions, fabricated evidence—and guarded by government, corporate, and military-intelligence disinformation shills who are well-paid to deceive the public. There is not only the personal incentive of the conspirators to suppress the truth, but there is also the tendency of people to repeat a false narrative in order to protect their class privileges and conform to perceived social norms.

Many so-called conspiracy theories are, in fact, false narratives—imperialist propaganda intended to obscure material reality and confuse those seeking to understand it while discrediting them in the eyes of the public. The “fake news” rhetoric that began spewing forth from the imperialist propaganda apparatus in 2017 constitutes one such false narrative intended to obscure the reality that the Western media corporations themselves are those primarily responsible for generating “fake news.”[13]

Conspiracy “theories” generated by disinformation agents and lunatics that do not even attempt to conform to the evidence, like any worldview divorced from material reality, should be dismissed; however, these false narratives should not be confused with genuine theories that do provide an accurate material analysis. Of course, sometimes honest people make mistakes, and genuine conspiracy theorists may develop theories which are mostly accurate but somewhat flawed. An inaccurate conspiracy theory does not necessarily reflect a deliberate attempt to deceive; however, the credibility of those who consistently repeat false narratives comes into question.

Some conspiracy theories may be highly accurate at describing reality, while others may be generated by disinformation agents to deliberately obscure reality, and others still may be generated by people who are well-intentioned yet misinformed and misguided. As with any accurate scientific theory, an accurate conspiracy theory describes material reality by maintaining a coherent narrative and making logical sense of all the available facts and evidence relating to a conspiracy, without contradictions or avoidance of certain facts, and without relying on unverifiable claims. A valuable theory has explanatory and/or predictive power.

Materialism, Logic, and Evidence

There are essentially two ways one can approach the subject of conspiracy theory: materialism or idealism, logic or dogma, science or blind faith. It is true that materialists can sometimes commit idealist errors, and idealists can occasionally make some logical sense in a limited way. But the basic approach one takes, whether materialist or idealist at its core, means the difference between searching for truth and settling for fantasy. Of course, the revolutionary class consciousness necessary for humanity to liberate itself depends on truth, on a logical assessment of the existing material realities. Only a scientific, materialist analysis can provide the proper way forward for the masses to achieve revolutionary victory. The success of revolution depends not only on a proper alignment of social forces based on revolutionary class alliances forged between the radical and progressive elements of society, but also on a highly conscious and well-organized working class that understands the nature of the counter-revolutionary conspiracies being carried out against it.

Whether we are dealing with conspiracy theory or class analysis (or any branch of science for that matter), materialism is of the utmost importance, as it is the only logical form of analysis. Conspiracy theory is a way to understand specific historical events of a complicated and cryptic nature, while Marxist class analysis is a way to understand the historical development of class structures in the broad context of social, political, economic, and cultural conditions. Marxism and conspiracy theory are not at odds with each other. Proper conspiracy theory reinforces proper class analysis and vice versa, as the goal of both conspiracy theory and class analysis is to provide an accurate understanding of material reality. However, conspiracy theory by itself cannot provide an adequate explanation for the general historical development of present-day society; only a proper Marxist class analysis based on historical materialism can do so.

Inaccurate conspiracy theories, including those generated by imperialist disinformation agents and those generated by people with active imaginations and little concern for evidence, fall into the realm of idealism. As materialists, Marxists do not uphold idealist conceptions of history and current events. Like all genuine scientists, Marxists use evidence to support their claims and do not rely on beliefs, superstitions, unfounded assumptions, preconceived notions, hearsay, rumors, or dogma to make their arguments. Neither do they rely on character attacks, emotional appeals, name-calling, or other childish antics. Marxists take a critical, analytical approach to dissecting material reality by looking at the historical development process of a particular phenomenon and examining the forces and material conditions that comprise its development and underlie its existence. Conspiracies and covert operations, like all material phenomena, each have a historical development process which can be studied insofar as facts and evidence are available.

Tools of Deception

Most people at present are completely unaware of the level of sophistication of imperialist propaganda and covert operations. This must change if the working class is to free itself from its shackles.

Covert operations are highly compartmentalized—individuals involved in such activities are told only what they need to know by their superiors to accomplish their objectives[14]—which allows for the secret planning and execution of large and sophisticated operations by the imperialists. The imperialists use a carrot-and-stick approach to controlling the masses, offering money to those who sell themselves out to become willing accomplices of the empire[15], and harming or threatening those who oppose the empire. Those involved in imperialist covert operations are generally very well-paid for their work, but they may face assassination, imprisonment, or worse if they divulge information about these secret activities.[16]

The imperialists use sophisticated methods to covertly attack individuals or groups. There are countless ways that the imperialists can assassinate an individual and cover up the crime—suicide, accident, or drug overdose is often used as a convenient cover story. Distributed covertly by agents of imperialism, drugs are used to disrupt activists and activist groups, and even to cripple entire populations. Agents provocateur infiltrate political groups to spy on them, to create chaos and discord between members, to create ideological division, to incite dangerous or illegal activity, or to cause them psychological or physical harm.[17] The imperialists pay protesters to gather in the streets with reactionary and pro-imperialist messages, providing convenient images for the corporate media to use in manipulating public opinion.[18] They manipulate various groups against one another, regularly employing divide-and-conquer tactics against their enemies, against other nations, against the working class.[19] Terrorism is a tool often used by the imperialists, sometimes taking the form of military invasion and occupation or aerial bombardment, but also taking the form of false-flag terrorist attacks blamed on others or support for terrorist proxy armies and mercenary death squads.[20] The imperialists also engage in chemical, radiological, and biological poisoning of individuals and groups. Sometimes they test new secret weapons on unsuspecting people.[21] All of these nefarious activities are planned in secret and carried out in the interests of the imperialist bourgeoisie, against the interests of the working class.

In regards to imperialist propaganda, since the imperialist bourgeoisie owns all the major news outlets in the West, it is very easy to coordinate and control the narrative that the general public receives. As Lenin points out,

“Freedom of the press and assembly under bourgeois democracy is freedom for the wealthy to conspire against the working people, freedom for the capitalists to bribe and buy up the press. I have explained this in newspaper articles so often that I have derived no pleasure in repeating myself.”[22]

Today, the imperialist propaganda machine has developed into a massive and sophisticated apparatus in which media corporations, public relations firms, and intelligence agencies work together to generate a perpetual web of lies and disinformation.[23] Imperialist military-intelligence agencies regularly carry out covert operations against regimes and organizations which stand opposed to imperialism while the corporate media twists the narratives to blame the targeted groups.[24] Imperialist media outlets smear and revile the victims of imperialism, concocting absurd narratives to try to justify the crimes of imperialism.[25]

The imperialists use countless methods of disinformation and deception within their propaganda to manipulate public opinion regarding their covert operations, using the latest in psychology and mass psychology to achieve their goals in this regard. Imperialist propaganda makes use of corporate marketing and public relations techniques as well as military-intelligence psychological warfare and behavior modification techniques, areas of science which already overlap to some degree. Through their propaganda, the imperialists create structured ideologies within the minds of the masses to enable better social control.[26] The ideological worldviews that the imperialists condition into the minds of the masses are resistant to facts and logic and become entrenched. Those individuals who regularly consume imperialist propaganda and uncritically accept its message become parrots of imperialist disinformation.[27] The cultural and psychological conditioning that takes place due to the imperialists and their parrots is highly detrimental to the working class, as it all serves to suppress the development of a revolutionary proletarian class consciousness.

Imperialist propaganda is designed to manipulate people’s emotions for political purposes.[28] It is designed to manipulate people based on their assumptions about the world, about politics.[29] Imperialist propaganda uses “perception management” to present political issues in a way that is misleading, in a way that dupes people into supporting imperialism.[30] It employs normalization techniques on a wide scale to establish dominant cultural and political trends, narratives, and values which suit the interests of the imperialist bourgeoisie.[31] It uses condition-response techniques in order to condition people to react a certain way to certain types of political phenomena, to certain messages.[32] It uses hypnotic induction techniques[33] in order to make its viewers more susceptible to persuasion and subconscious manipulation. The use of subliminal messages is widespread throughout imperialist propaganda[34], including the use of sexual subliminal messages.[35]

The imperialists often construct complex, multi-layered disinformation campaigns[36] to cover up their secret operations, leading to many false conclusions for naïve investigators of these phenomena. Imperialist propaganda regularly promotes fake narratives which the empire uses to justify its crimes and aggression.[37] These narratives are repeated throughout the mainstream media including Hollywood movies and television shows, as well as social media networks such as Facebook. When attempting to obscure the reality of false flag terrorist attacks and other imperialist covert operations, imperialist propaganda sometimes creates false leads in order to divert attention from real, significant facts that might otherwise shed some light on the crime at hand.[38] Phony subplots are a convenient way to distract from important issues and reinforce false narratives.[39] Imperialist propaganda sometimes promotes “limited hangout” theories, narratives which acknowledge some facts and perhaps even some level of guilt on the part of the conspirators while obscuring or avoiding the most important and incriminating facts.[40]

The imperialists often rely on planted evidence[41] and planted witnesses[42] when covering up their crimes and covert operations. “Crisis actors,” people acting as victims or witnesses of staged traumatic events such as shootings or bombings, are sometimes used to promote false narratives throughout the corporate media (as with the White Helmets organization in Syria).[43] The imperialist propaganda apparatus also makes use of green screens[44] and computer-generated images[45] to produce phony video footage that appears realistic. The complexity of imperialist propaganda increases with new advances in science and technology, something which must be taken into account when analyzing imperialist deceptions and covert operations.

Imperialist propaganda often uses fear to drive its audience to adopt a certain political position such as embracing a drive to war.[46] It makes regular use of emotionalism in pushing people away from examining the deeper issues underlying the manufactured narratives presented to them by the corporate media. Imperialist propaganda makes strong use of association between words, images, sounds, and ideas to manipulate its audience’s emotions and behavior.[47] Enemies of imperialism are associated with negative ideas constantly throughout imperialist propaganda, just as radical and revolutionary messages are associated with negative ideas. Trigger words are often used to emotionally manipulate people[48] for the purpose of influencing their political ideologies. By connecting certain facts with negative ideas and emotions, the imperialists are able to steer people away from understanding the reality of imperialist covert operations and the reality of the class struggle.

Sometimes the imperialists spread disinformation in the form of phony conspiracy “theories” to make themselves seem all-powerful and invincible, giving themselves credit for events in which they took no part and generating elaborate and terrifying stories of total control and omnipresence.[49] These kinds of false narratives serve to confuse the masses and generate feelings of overwhelming powerlessness, hopelessness, defeat, and despair in those who would investigate such subjects.

Imperialist propagandists often construct straw man arguments in order to make a show of “debunking” conspiracy theories which are, in fact, accurate in their exposure of imperialist covert operations. It is a cheap but effective trick to create a silly and outlandish version of a conspiracy theory in order to discredit conspiracy theorists and dismiss all of them as illogical nuts.[50] Marxists and genuine truth-seekers should avoid “guilt by association” tricks used by the imperialists; rather, they should rely on evidence and careful analysis before reaching conclusions about such murky and disputed narratives.

Imperialist propaganda villainizes those who dare to look deeper by denouncing them for a lack of patriotism, loyalty, honesty, sanity, moral integrity, etc. Throughout imperialist propaganda, conspiracy theorists are derided and smeared as paranoid, insane, even dangerous.[51] Communists, anti-imperialists, and other political radicals are given a similar treatment.[52] The imperialists do not want the working class to understand how the capitalist-imperialist system operates or how working-class people can organize to end their oppression. The imperialists attempt to suppress the voice of all those who seek to bring the masses to a more advanced consciousness. Those who point out the crimes of capitalism and imperialism are marginalized and silenced.

Sowing Division

In the United States and elsewhere, there is a strong division between the “social justice” movement and the “truth” movement. This is no accident; the imperialists have designed their propaganda (both mainstream and “alternative”) to divide activists into these two categories and maintain their mutual exclusion as much as possible, often using “gatekeepers” (agents acting as political pundits with assigned protocols and talking points) to help accomplish this task.[53] Such gatekeepers generally drive liberals and leftists away from examining imperialist-sponsored covert operations[54] while reinforcing reactionary nationalist, pro-capitalist sentiments among conservative audiences.[55] The imperialists do this in order to keep those with liberal and leftist tendencies naïve and unaware of the true nature of imperialist covert operations, unaware of how the masses are being manipulated, while steering those might have a limited understanding of imperialist covert operations away from wider issues of class and social justice. And, of course, the imperialists constantly reinforce a thoroughly reactionary, bourgeois, reformist, anti-Marxist mindset among both liberals and conservatives in order to steer them away from any considerations of revolutionary organizing.

Largely due to the imperialists’ propaganda and covert manipulation of various political groups through COINTELPRO-type tactics,[56] a situation now exists in the United States in which the liberal so-called “left” is concerned primarily with identity politics, gender fashions, and empty sloganeering,[57] while the realm of conspiracy theory is generally considered to be the territory of right-wing libertarians[58] whose primary concerns are maintaining their private property and other class privileges. Both the liberal “left” and the conservative right are completely immersed in bourgeois individualism, totally divorced from any notions of working class unity or revolutionary organizing—a situation which allows the imperialists to pursue their agenda unhindered by any significant anti-capitalist or anti-imperialist domestic opposition.

As author Michael Parenti has pointed out,

“…[W]hat you’re getting on the left lately is a debate in which people are saying, ‘We mustn’t look at conspiracy, we’ve got to look at the broader institutional systems.’ That’s an argument being made by Alexander Cockburn, Noam Chomsky, Chip Berlet, and any number of people, and I think it’s an incorrect argument… it’s not conspiracy or class power, it’s conspiracy and class power.”[59]

This tendency among widely respected, ostensibly “leftist” political personalities to avoid examination of possible imperialist covert operations leads many among the left to ridicule and dismiss theories about such operations without thoroughly investigating the material realities. This does a great disservice to the working class and to the revolution. It lends itself to confusion, sectarianism, and division among the working class, and it hinders the development of a revolutionary proletarian consciousness.

Analyzing Covert Operations

One must be cautious in analyzing events where imperialist covert manipulation is suspected. Spreading imperialist lies, even inadvertently, only serves to strengthen imperialism. Because of the nature of imperialist covert operations and imperialist propaganda intended to obscure such operations, it is easy to reach flawed conclusions without thoroughly considering all facts, evidence, and arguments being put forward to explain such events. It is very easy to fall into the trap of accepting a simple yet flawed narrative which appears to make sense at first glance, but upon deeper inspection fails to explain important facts. It is very easy to dismiss, out of laziness or frustration, the nuanced arguments being put forward by some conspiracy theorists which actually do make sense of the available evidence.

It is necessary to consider the various ways evidence can be manufactured or manipulated when trying to establish an accurate understanding of imperialist covert operations. It is necessary to consider the ways in which the imperialist media and intelligence agencies are psychologically manipulating the masses. Of course, one should always begin an investigation by asking, cui bono (who benefits)? This question should not be asked merely about individuals, but about classes. One major indicator of an imperialist covert operation is when the corporate media seems to be avoiding discussion of certain facts or evidence while carrying out a smear campaign against those who are asking honest questions and trying to establish a logical, coherent narrative of an event. This type of behavior, this avoidance of key issues, should arouse suspicion among anyone who is genuinely interested in the truth.

Because of the nature of covert operations, sometimes the available information is inadequate to determine the true narrative of an event. Other times, the truth is all too obvious—hidden in plain sight[60]—but obscured by disinformation. In any case, real scientists must remain honest about what is known and what is unknown; otherwise, they are not scientists but dogmatists. It is a mistake to make claims of veracity without proper evidence. This is a common error that true leftists and revolutionaries should avoid. It is also a mistake to dismiss something merely because it sounds strange or unlikely upon hearing of it for the first time, as imperialist covert operations can often take on an extremely odd, nefarious character due to the imperialists’ tactics of deception and their extraordinary depravity. It is impossible to understand imperialist covert operations without patience and a careful assessment of the facts. As always, it is necessary to examine the interaction of the class forces within and surrounding an event in order to fully understand its significance within the class struggle and its political implications.

It is important to always uphold the principle of “No investigation, no right to speak.”[61] Those who claim they have the correct narrative while demonstrating their lack of investigation are guilty of idealist errors, and of contributing to a culture of bourgeois individualism and egotism, a culture of stupidity and self-righteousness, a culture of dogmatism and anti-science. They mislead the working class by their lack of accurate analysis. True revolutionaries should avoid making such errors, as true revolutionaries are Marxists, and Marxists are materialists.

Conclusion

“…[T]he dictatorship of the bourgeoisie is a secret, concealed, backstage dictatorship, which needs a plausible camouflage with which to deceive the masses… it follows that our bourgeois dictators will strive to solve the most vital problems of the country, the question of war and peace, for example, behind the back of the masses, without the masses, by means of a conspiracy against the masses.”

—J.V. Stalin, “A Government of Bourgeois Dictatorship”[62]

The capitalists and imperialists do not make all of their plans transparent to the masses; on the contrary, they decide policy in secret, away from the masses, as it is against the interests of the masses. Every corporate boardroom is a conspiracy against the workers, a conspiracy to exploit them. Every imperialist military planning room is a conspiracy against the global poor, against the exploited nations. The corporations and the military and intelligence agencies of imperialism exist to serve the interests of the imperialist bourgeoisie, and they often collaborate in carrying out secret operations of a criminal nature. The imperialists are highly organized and highly sophisticated in their use of propaganda and covert operations against the working class. To categorically dismiss all conspiracy theories as lunatic nonsense is to foolishly deny the existence of actual conspiracies that have occurred throughout history which many Marxists have examined, as did Marx himself.

Responsibility for the crimes of imperialism rests on the imperialists and their agents and supporters. Those who repeat the lies of imperialism share a level of responsibility for these crimes. It is one thing to make the mistake of believing a lie; however, it is quite another to go on consistently repeating the lies of well-known liars. As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” The capitalists and imperialists have proven themselves to be liars, murderers, and thieves beyond any doubt, yet many among the working class (and in the imperialist countries, an overwhelming majority) continue to repeat their lies as truth. This is unacceptable.

In order for the working class to free itself, it must develop an awareness of the lies, deceptions, and schemes of the imperialist bourgeoisie. The moral and intellectual degeneration of the masses in the bourgeois countries enables the imperialist bourgeoisie to continue to carry out its crimes against humanity and the Earth. It is against the interests of the super-exploited workers in the poor countries to adopt such a degenerate mentality, yet many are doing so nonetheless due to the exportation of bourgeois culture through imperialism.[63]

Liberterian Communists must do their best to lead the development of a culture of intelligence, of analytical thinking, of modesty, integrity, and hard work, a revolutionary New Culture to replace bourgeois culture. Developing a proper understanding of imperialist manipulation and deceit is a necessary part of developing this New Culture. The New Culture will provide the core values and social habits of a New Power, a socialist organization of society, that the working class must build to replace the old bourgeois society. Understanding and teaching the truth about imperialist covert operations in the context of the class struggle will help the global working class develop the necessary revolutionary consciousness to achieve victory, to build a lasting socialism.

Let truth lead the way, comrades! Forward!

Notes

  1. Vladimir Lenin. “The Eighteenth of June,” Collected Works, Vol. 25. Online: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/jul/03.htm
  2. Sun Tzu. The Art of War, Ch. 1: “Laying Plans.” Online: http://www.literatureproject.com/art-of-war/1-art-war.htm
  3. Madsen, Wayne. “The Major Purveyor of ‘Fake News’ is the CIA-Corporate Complex.” Strategic Culture, 28 Nov. 2016. Online: https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/11/28/major-purveyor-fake-news-cia-corporate-complex.html
  4. Tracy, James F. “CIA Document 1035-960: Foundation of a Weaponized Term.” Memory Hole, 20 Jan. 2013. Online: http://memoryholeblog.com/2013/01/20/cia-document-1035-960-foundation-of-a-weaponized-term/
  5. Cunningham, Finian. “Ukraine, Korea, Syria, Iran… Falsifying History is Uncle Sam’s Way to War.” Strategic Culture, 22 Apr. 2017. Online: https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/04/22/ukraine-korea-syria-iran-falsifying-history-uncle-sam-way-war.html
  6. “5 Confirmed False Flag Operations and How to Spot Them in the Future.” Anti-Media, 14 July 2015. Online: http://theantimedia.org/5-confirmed-false-flag-operations/
  7. Karl Marx. The Civil War in France. International Publishers, New York, 1968, p. 79. Online: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1871/civil-war-france/ch06.htm
  8. Marx, The Civil War, p. 46. Online: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1871/civil-war-france/ch04.htm
  9. Vladimir Lenin. Collected Works. Progress Publishers, Moscow, Volume 26, 1972, pp. 145-148. Online: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/oct/07.htm
  10. Sayers, Michael and Kahn, Alfred. The Great Conspiracy Against Russia. Boni & Gaer, New York, 1946, p. 28. Online: https://archive.org/details/HIST3750GreatConspiracyAgainstRussia
  11. Joseph Stalin. History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks), Ch. 12. International Publishers, 1939, p. 334. Online: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch12.htm
  12. Mao Tse-tung. “Fight for a Fundamental Turn for the Better in the Nation’s Financial and Economic Situation,” Collected Works, Vol. 5, p. 31. Online: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-5/mswv5_06.htm
  13. Chossudovsky, Michel. “Who is Behind ‘Fake News’? Mainstream Media Use Fake Videos and Images.” Global Research, 26 January 2018. Online: https://www.globalresearch.ca/who-is-behind-fake-news-mainstream-media-use-fake-videos-and-images/5557580
  14. “Compartmentalization (information security).” Military Wiki. Online: http://military.wikia.com/wiki/Compartmentalization_(information_security)
  15. Buesing, Summer. “10 Of The Highest Earning News Anchors.” TheRichest. Online: https://www.therichest.com/rich-list/nation/10-of-the-highest-earning-news-anchors/
  16. Blum, William. Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II. Common Courage Press, 1995. Print.
  17. Potash, John. Drugs as Weapons Against Us. TrineDay, 2014. Print.
  18. Richardson, Valerie. “Democratic Heads Roll After Video Shows Agitators Planted at Trump Rallies.” The Washington Times, 18 Oct. 2016. Online: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/18/undercover-video-shows-democrats-saying-they-hire-/
  19. Ahmed, Nafeez. “The Pentagon Plan to ‘Divide and Rule’ the Muslim World.” Middle East Eye, 3 Apr. 2015. Online: http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/pentagon-plan-divide-and-rule-muslim-world-1690265165
  20. Blum, Killing Hope.
  21. Wabash, Robert. “The 13 Most Evil US Government Human Experiments.” War Is Crime, 8 Aug. 2012. Online: http://wariscrime.com/new/the-13-most-evil-us-government-human-experiments/
  22. Vladimir Lenin. “Letter to the British Workers,” Collected Works, Vol. 31. Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1965, p. 142. Online: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1920/may/30.htm
  23. Constantine, Alex. “Tales from the Crypt: The Depraved Spies and Moguls of the CIA’s Operation MOCKINGBIRD.” Constantine Report, 5 Feb. 2010. Online: http://www.constantinereport.com/tales-from-the-crypt-the-depraved-spies-and-moguls-of-the-cias-operation-mockingbird/
  24. Tanner, Judy. “We Need Another Chilcot Inquiry – This Time Into Syria.” Activist Post, 25 Jan. 2018. Online: https://www.activistpost.com/2018/01/we-need-another-chilcot-inquiry-this-time-into-syria.html
  25. Parenti, Michael. “Imperialism 101.” Against Empire. San Francisco: City Lights, 1995. Print. Available online at: http://www.michaelparenti.org/Imperialism101.html
  26. Martinson, Sue Ann. “Psychological Warfare.” Reader Supported News, 5 Dec. 2016. Online: https://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/21-21/40638-psychological-warfare
  27. Dreyfuss, Emily. “Want to Make a Lie Seem True? Say It Again. And Again. And Again.” Wired, 11 Feb. 2017. Online: https://www.wired.com/2017/02/dont-believe-lies-just-people-repeat/
  28. Watkins, Tate. “Kony 2012’s Old-Fashioned War Propaganda.” Reason, 14 Mar. 2012. Online: http://reason.com/archives/2012/03/14/kony-2012s-old-fashioned-war-propaganda
  29. Sudborough, Gary. “Unfounded Assumptions, Elections and Propaganda.” Indybay, 8 Dec. 2004. Online: https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2004/12/08/17088331.php
  30. Molander , Roger C., Andrew S. Riddile, and Peter A. Wilson. “Strategic Information Warfare: A New Face of War.” RAND Corporation, 1996. Online: https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR661/index2.html
  31. Young, Judith H. “Psychological Control: States of Mental Disempowerment Part II: Deconstructing the Power of the Global Elite.” Global Research, 25 Oct. 2008. Online: http://www.globalresearch.ca/psychological-control-states-of-mental-disempowerment
  32. Bernays, Edward. Propaganda. 1928. Online: http://www.historyisaweapon.org/defcon1/bernprop.html
  33. Kennedy, Candice. “L.A. Businesses Attract New Customers with Hypnotic Marketing Techniques.” Newswire, 11 April 2014. Online: https://newswire.net/newsroom/pr/00081251-l-a-businesses-attract-new-customers-with-hypnotic-marketing-techniques.html
  34. Rossen, Jake. “7 Sneaky Subliminal Messages Hidden in Ads.” Mental Floss, 12 Aug. 2015. Online: http://mentalfloss.com/article/67223/7-sneaky-subliminal-messages-hidden-ads
  35. Arnett, Marissa. “Examples of Subliminal Messages.” Sexual Subliminal Messages in Advertising, 28 Apr. 2015. Online: https://subliminalmedia.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/examples-of-subliminal-messages/
  36. Safire, William. “The Farewell Dossier.” New York Times, 2 Feb. 2004. Online: https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/02/opinion/the-farewell-dossier.html
  37. Parry, Robert. “The New York Times Revamps Its False Ukraine Narrative.” Consortium News, 26 June 2014. Online: https://consortiumnews.com/2014/06/26/nyt-revamps-its-false-ukraine-narrative/
  38. Curtin, Edward. “The Blatant Conspiracy behind Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s Assassination.” 5 June, 2018, Dissident Voice. Online: https://dissidentvoice.org/2018/06/the-blatant-conspiracy-behind-senator-robert-f-kennedys-assassination/
  39. Morgan, Rowland. “Barbara Olson’s Call from Flight 77 Never Happened.” Aldeilis.net, 2 Dec. 2004. Online: https://aldeilis.net/english/barbara-olsons-call-from-flight-77-never-happened/
  40. “Selective Leaks Of The #PanamaPapers Create Huge Blackmail Potential.” Moon of Alabama, 4 Apr. 2016. Online: https://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/04/selected-leak-of-the-panamapapers-creates-huge-blackmail-potential.html
  41. “There Are Now So Many Admissions by Government Officials of False Flag Terror that Only the Willfully Ignorant Still Doubt the Reality of the Concept.” Washington’s Blog, 17 Dec. 2017. Online: http://washingtonsblog.com/2017/12/70416.html
  42. Cohen, Mitchel. “How Bush Sr. Sold the Gulf War.” Counterpunch, 28 Dec. 2002. Online: https://www.counterpunch.org/2002/12/28/how-bush-sr-sold-the-gulf-war/
  43. Unruhe, Jason. “Crisis Actors Exposed in Syria for US Imperialism.” Maoist Rebel News, 5 Nov. 2016. Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe7GzncqH4k
  44. “Mediafail: Anchors Fake It With a Greenscreen.” Boston Herald, 6 Dec. 2013. Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7efMCb-uJzs
  45. Winsor, Ben. “Discovery Is Becoming More And More Ridiculous With Its Fake Documentaries.” Business Insider, 18 Sept. 2014. Online: https://www.businessinsider.com/discovery-channels-fake-documentaries-2014-9
  46. “Bush: Don’t Wait for Mushroom Cloud.” Speech by George W. Bush, 7 Oct. 2002. Transcript on CNN, posted 8 Oct. 2002. Online: http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/07/bush.transcript/
  47. “Propaganda and Its Techniques.” Mind Over Media, 2015. Online: http://propaganda.mediaeducationlab.com/techniques/
  48. Jacobson, Ben. “How To Leverage Emotional Trigger Words in Content Marketing.” Lean Labs, 17 Sept. 2014. Online: https://www.lean-labs.com/blog/leverage-emotional-trigger-words-content-marketing
  49. “12 Million Americans Believe Reptilians Are Running U.S. Government.” Science Vibe, 6 July 2017. Online: http://sciencevibe.com/2017/07/06/alien-conspiracy-reptilians-are-running-u-s-governmentheres-how-to-spot-them/
  50. Sweeney, Michael H. “Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth: The Rules of Disinformation.” Exit Support Network, June 2001. Online: http://www.exitsupportnetwork.com/artcls/mindctrl/disinfo.htm
  51. Sweeney, “Twenty-Five Ways…”
  52. Anderson, Tim. “War and the Myth of ‘Neutral’ Reporting.” American Herald Tribune, 5 Nov. 2018. Online: https://ahtribune.com/culture-media/2596-war-myth-of-neutral-reporting.html
  53. Bramhall, Stuart Jeanne. “Does the CIA Fund Both the Right and the Left?” OpEdNews, 16 April 2011. Online: https://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Does-the-CIA-Fund-Both-the-by-Dr-Stuart-Jeanne-B-110416-54.html
  54. “Noam Chomsky Slams 9/11 Truthers.” RT, 26 Nov. 2013. Online: https://www.rt.com/usa/noam-chomsky-911-truthers-342/
  55. Higdon, Nolan. “Disinfo Wars: Alex Jones’ War on Your Mind.” Project Censored, 26 Sept. 2013. Online: https://www.projectcensored.org/disinfo-wars-alex-jones-war-mind/
    See also: Marcotte, Amanda. “The Conspiracy Convention: Alex Jones and the Fringe Right Get Their Cleveland Spotlight.” Salon, 19 July 2019. Online: https://www.salon.com/2016/07/19/the_conspiracy_convention_alex_jones_and_the_fringe_right_get_their_cleveland_spotlight/
  56. Higdon, “Disinfo Wars…”
  57. Murphy, Meghan. “#WeAreTheLeft: The Day Identity Politics Killed Identity Politics.” Feminist Current, 14, July 2014. Online: http://www.feministcurrent.com/2016/07/14/day-identity-politics-killed-identity-politics/
  58. Marcotte, Amanda. “How Right Wing Conspiracy Theories Grow: Mainstream Pundits Give Them Power.” Salon, 1 Mar. 2018. Online: https://www.salon.com/2018/03/01/how-right-wing-conspiracy-theories-grow-mainstream-pundits-give-them-power/
  59. Parenti, Michael. “Conspiracy and Class Power.” Speech given in 1993. Online: https://archive.org/details/MichaelParentiConspiracyANDClass
  60. “Quoted: Anderson Cooper On His CIA Internship.” Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2013. Online: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2013/10/20/quoted-anderson-cooper-on-his-cia-internship
  61. Mao Tse-tung. “Oppose Book Worship,” Selected Works of Mao Tse‑tung. Vol. 6. Online: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-6/mswv6_11.htm
  62. Joseph Stalin, “A Government of Bourgeois Dictatorship,” Works, Vol. 3, pp. 333-334. Online: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1917/09/27.htm
  63. Petras, James. “Cultural Imperialism in the Late 20th Century.” Global Policy Forum, Feb. 2000. Online: https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/154/25597.html