by Michael Greaney

Created on: November 28, 2008

The problem is not whether conspiracies exist, how well (or ill) they can be proved, or even whether it's "the Jooz," "the Masons," "the Vatican," or any one of a countless number of groups identified by a definite article instead of actual actions, characteristics of groups, or identifiable human beings.

No, the problem is what we do to address existing, identifiable social problems, regardless what group, individual, or alien species we decide is to blame for the current state of society. Attempting to seek out and punish or destroy those whom we have decided are guilty is, frankly, a waste of time and resources that could be better spent fixing the problem. Finding and punishing a criminal never fixed a problem. It might help bring "closure," but it cannot unmake what was done. The only effective reponse to social problems is to address the problems, not the presumed cause.

As a Certified Public Accountant, I can state that the task of an accountant faced with a problem is to figure out where you are, then where you want to be, and get there in the fastest and most efficient manner possible - and then structuring the system so that the problem does not recur. If doing so surfaces a party or parties responsible, that is a "bonus." You then determine whether it is worthwhile doing anything about them, and (if so) what to do. If it costs more to punish someone than it is worth, you don't waste the resources, regardless how "good" it might make someone feel - companies have owners (usually shareholders), just as countries have taxpayers, and you have to justify every expenditure not directly related to carrying out the mission of the company, or running the country as cheaply and efficiently as possible in accordance with the principles of justice.

Frankly, we have limited resources, whether we are talking about a company or a country. The concept of "economic scarcity," that at any point in time you have X amount of any resource, and you can only use it for one thing at a time, dictates that you can either spend your resources looking forward and carrying out the mission of your company or country, or looking backward, trying to see who is responsible, who conspired, what they did, and so on. The reasonable response to any conspiracy, real or imagined, is to fix matters so that even if a conspiracy exists, it cannot function.

This is called, "social justice," the "particular" virtue directed to the "common good," whether it's the whole of the common good overseen by a country's government, or the common good of a specific organization overseen by its management. The common good of society is intended to help us reach our full potential as human beings, just as the common good of a company is intended to help us fulfill the mission of the company. Anything else is, ultimately, a diversion, and thus a waste of valuable resources that could be put to better use meeting people's wants and needs, or furthering the mission of the company.

The question, then, is not whether conspiracy theories are legitimate. It's how do we restructure the social order to make conspiracies - assuming that they exist - ineffective. We can choose to look forward and fulfill our potential as human beings, or we can look backward and waste our limited amount of time and other resources in a useless quest that accomplishes nothing.

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