No, the Illuminati, in the sense intended by conspiracy theorists, they do not exist and have never existed. No one is plotting to establish a supposed New world order (New World Order in English) and take control of the planet. This does not mean that conspiracies do not exist (think of coups to take power in a country, disinformation, etc.), but these are very different phenomena from those imagined by conspiracy theorists. In the past, however, there have really been groups known as “Illuminati”, the most famous of which is theOrder of the Illuminati born in Bavaria (now part of Germany) to late eighteenth century on the initiative of Johann Adam Weishaupt. The Order was a secret societypartly modelled on Freemasonry, and aimed to combat against religious prejudice and political oppression.
They were the Bavarian Illuminati
In the past there have been groups called Illuminati, which is a very generic word and contains the idea of “enlightenment”, that is, of having knowledge superior to that of other citizens. For example, in 16th century Spain there existed the religious sect of the Illuminated (which in Italian translates as enlightened).
The most famous group of “illuminati” was born in Bavaria: the Order of the Illuminati, a secret society founded in Ingolstadt in 1776. The Order was founded by Johann A. Weishaupt, an intellectual follower of the Enlightenment, with the intention of fighting for freedom, the self-determination of peoples and the triumph of reason.
The Order of the Illuminati was a secret societyto which one could belong after an initiation: it was a very widespread system at the time because, since there was no freedom of assembly, political groups had to structure themselves as clandestine associations. The Order of the Illuminati, which in some respects was similar to a brotherhoodhad a hierarchical structure, partly modelled on that of the masonry. The Order, however, was short-lived: in 1784 its activities came to the attention of the Bavarian government, which did not hesitate to order it dissolution.
The term “illuminati” used today by conspiracy theorists does not refer, except in rare cases, to the Bavarian Illuminati or other sects of the past, but usually refers to a generic group of “strong powers” who conspire to dominate the world.
The Alleged New World Order Plot
The Illuminati are among the main protagonists of conspiracy theories. Some people imagine that unspecified “strong powers”sometimes called “illuminati”, are plotting to take over the entire planet. In other words, a small number of people are involved in establishing the so-called New World Order. The theory has countless variations. The “strong powers” include, depending on the case, the UN, NASA, the United States government, pharmaceutical companies, organizations such as the Bilderberg Group (which involves about 130 personalities from the political and economic world in an annual meeting), Freemasonry, the Jews, and in some cases even extraterrestrials.
In recent times, some technological advances, such as 5G technology and vaccineshave been considered elements of the plan for world domination. The New World Order conspiracy, moreover, is often associated with other “minor” conspiracy theories: space travel, chemtrails, etc.
Conspiracy theories are not new: Conspiracy theories have always existed and the idea of the New World Order was born over a century and a half ago, and was then better defined during the twentieth century. Today, however, the ideas of conspiracy theorists can travel and spread more quickly thanks to social media.
