In The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, Adam Smith wrote, “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” The English writer and publisher Mark Fisher went further, remarking in 2013 that much of what is packaged as conspiracies today is “the ruling class showing class solidarity”—by which he meant that it’s mostly just ultrarich people, in business and government, having one another’s back.

DEFINE: Explains Mark Fisher's concept that 'conspiracies' are often just ruling-class mutual support. XREF: Connects to Adam Smith's original observation about tradesmen conspiring to raise prices, showing a through-line in economic thought.

Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, loc. 775