The very nature of this blog implies that we are still interested in the Order of the Illuminati, so it only made sense to explore why that’s the case in today’s article. We will talk about the so-called modern revival of the Illuminati, the Illuminati in the Internet age and much more.
We recommend first reading the article detailing the history of the order and the one exploring the first Illuminati conspiracy theory, so you can get a better grasp on why the Illuminati remained deeply entrenched in our collective consciousness.
Revival or Continuation
The historical order of the Illuminati, the Bavarian Illuminati, ceased to exist in the mid-1780’s, but even then, many didn’t believe that they disbanded after they were dealt a heavy blow by the Bavarian government, which formally banned secret societies.
Theories about their insidious workings spread like wildfire when the Bavarian government published Illuminati literature found in the homes of active members. Soon after, the Illuminati scare reached other European countries, and even the newly formed United States.
Thus, it’s hard to say whether there were multiple revivals, or the conspiracy theories simply never stopped. There were, however, a few notable increases in interest in modernity, and that’s what we’re going to explore today.
The New World Order: Well-Forgotten Past
Many contemporary journalists suggest that conspiracy theories about the so-called New World Order are modern inventions that have nothing to do with the original Order of the Illuminati, but they are arguably wrong.
Adam Weishaupt, the founder of the Bavarian Illuminati, often spoke of the New World Order that was going to be achieved by his organization. He saw a global society where people were “happy and free”. Weishaupt believed that his ideal world would be ruled by benevolent and enlightened lords, envisioning himself and his subordinates.
In addition, Weishaupt’s goal was to be achieved through concealment and propaganda and he himself noted the importance of these tools. Not only that, but various scholars studying the Bavarian Illuminati argued that Weishaupt’s order was but a fragment of a larger group that continued to operate, which further fueled the idea of an organization working in the shadows.
You can already see the traces of the original Illuminati in the conspiracy of the New World Order (NWO). What is this NWO though? Simply put, it’s to break with tradition, abolishing the old status quo and allegedly liberating people of hierarchical constraints. Its opponents, in past and present day, however, say that the egalitarian façade is only that, a façade.
They argue that people would not be truly free or happy, but simply under new constraints, and way worse ones. For instance, historical opponents argued that the NWO would ban religion; the Bavarian Illuminati spoke of religious liberty, but some documents show their ultimate goal was universal atheism.
New World Order: Today
Contemporary opponents claim that the NWO would ban private property and they use a statement by Danish politician Ida Auken to prove their point: “You’ll own nothing. And you’ll be happy. What you want you’ll rent, and it’ll be delivered by drone”, you can watch the video here. Auken decried this reaction, saying that the statement was only a prediction, not a goal.
This is only one example of modern-day NWO theories. What they have in common is that this NWO would not be achieved through liberal and/or democratic means, or the people choosing leaders who could bring radical change.
Instead, they believe in a secret cabal, that is deeply entrenched in contemporary politics, economics, and culture, is working to diminish every institution and hold power over both nation states and the individual; the ultimate goal is a global empire, reminiscent of the one in the Star Wars original and prequel trilogies (both in means of achieving the goal and the result).
Sometimes these theories overlap with the antisemitic theory of Jewish world domination. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a 1903 Russian document that allegedly transcribes meetings of a Jewish secret society whose plan is to rule the world by subverting world governments and their people.
Despite being proven to be a fabrication almost immediately, the Protocols Elders of Zion reignited the idea of the NWO in modern day. However, it’s a stretch to claim that all who believe that the Illuminati prepares us for a NWO also believe in the protocols.
Another influential piece of literature, that likely started off as a joke, was Principia Discordia (1963) by Greg Hill and Kerry Wendell Thornley. It’s supposedly a religious text belonging to a secret organization that tries to wreak havoc to deliver meaningful change.
The book supposedly intended to show people how easy it is to spread misinformation, so they become more careful, but instead it did the opposite and revived the Illuminati theories in the United States. Apparently, the theory that JFK was killed by them originated around the same time.
In 1999, David Icke published The Biggest Secret, a book again talking about a secret society comprised of humanoid reptilians that rule the world. These reptilians disguise as humans and they include the British Royal Family, the Rothschilds, and the Bush family.
Icke’s work remains influential and it’s the last major work to inspire a significant revival in interest in the NWO and Illuminati. Icke still gives lectures about it and supposedly 4% of American voters believe in this theory.
Created at the same time as the boom of the first Internet blogs, it could be said that the Illuminati entered the Internet sphere through it. Now, you can watch hours-long videos on the topic on YouTube or go on 4chan and Reddit to discuss it in detail. The book also spawned the ‘which celebrity is a reptile/Illuminati member” trend online.
All these works and their successors, conspiracy theories online, have led to the massive spread of misinformation online, which likely affected many elections in the last two decades. They also led to the creation of QAnon, a conspiracy theory group, where you can hear the wildest theories.
We can only expect similar works in the next few years.
