What the Difference Between Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories Tells Us About American History—and About Now

On March 24, the Paris-based offices of Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild were raided by French police. Officials were searching for evidence of wrongdoing for an investigation into possible corruption by a former UN diplomat turned employee who is mentioned dozens of times in the Jeffrey Epstein emails. Current head of the bank Arianne de Rothschild, who is also in the Epstein emails exchanging messages with Epstein himself, was present for the raid, which was part of a long-running investigation.

Yes, she is one of those Rothschilds: the 200-year old European banking dynasty claimed by conspiracy theorists to run all of the central banks in the world, hold $500 trillion in assets, and fund both sides of every war. Those Rothschilds are linked on multiple levels to Jeffrey Epstein, and in an email to fellow billionaire Peter Thiel, Epstein claimed to “represent the Rothschilds.”

Unsurprisingly, the conspiracy theory community was excited about the raid, seeing it as validation of their long-held views of the Rothschilds as part of a power elite that was no longer untouchable. A guest on Alex Jones’ show the day after the raid extolled it as “a small victory” in the fight against globalism. It would appear, then, that the idea of the Rothschilds being involved in the dark deeds of the global oligarchy is not a conspiracy theory, but just a conspiracy. It’s a vast and evil plot, carried out in secret, and only exposed by the diligence of truth-crusaders on the internet.

Or is it? What if Epstein’s link to the Rothschilds was neither a conspiracy, nor a conspiracy theory. What if it was just one of the countless connections many wealthy people have to each other, with their deeds difficult for outsiders to understand and mostly carried out through the banality of electronic communication?

The Edmond de Rothschild investigation isn’t actually about the bank, but someone who worked at the bank. And Ariane de Rothschild might be linked to Epstein, but she’s not currently under investigation for any crimes. So if there is a conspiracy, what exactly is it?

This is when the difference between “conspiracy” and “conspiracy theory” becomes crucial to understand.