Category: Commentary, Critique, and Response

Great Question.
While (a) all conspiracy theories hold a grain of truth at their core and (b) there is a tendency on the right to seek conspiracy narratives just as the left has a tendency toward oppression narratives, the reality is that the city of london does specialize in shady money, but that they’re closely intertwined with our NYC only slightly less questionable money.

While I get why folks latch onto these City of London empire theories—there’s no denying London’s massive role in global finance, handling 40% of forex and offshore havens that tie into US trends like deindustrialization—it’s mostly overblown conspiracy thinking.

What we should think in terms of is the US-UK transfer of imperial power and the UK’s retention of some aspects of that history combined with some aspects of american postwar capture of the UK financial system in order to expand american postwar power.

But in the end it’s rational incentives (‘conspiracy of common interests’) not conspiracy by intent.

Financialization in America ramped up through our own choices, like deregulation in the ’80s and chasing short-term profits, which yeah, led to predictable downsides like inequality and job losses in manufacturing, but also powered our dominance in world trade and military might. The USA switched from military to economic power especially under Regan. Which we see playing out with Trump’s continuation of exercising that power today.

Instead of chasing plots, let’s stick to facts: incentives drive this stuff, not some British overlord suppressing sovereignty.

OTOH: anything that gets the radical right to agitprop is probably a counter-balance to the radical left and in some strange way produces a reasonable equilibrium.

Short answer, no conspiracy other than common interest made possible by the utility of our shared anglo american common law emphasis on the protection of private property, the profitability of globalism for the financial sector, and the utility of using that wealth as strategic leverage instead of blood and steel.

I hope this provides the answer you’re looking for. I try to remain sympathetic to conservatives without feeding the false narratives.

CD