Masonry’s gentry takeover was economic survival, not occult plotting

Evidence

Freemasonry, far from having a continuous existence since ancient times, originated in the early modern period as an outgrowth of some artisan guilds, beginning in the late seventeenth century. … The original Masonic lodges—guild organizations for stonemasons— began to go into decline in the late seventeenth century. Along with other craft organizations, Masonic lodges suffered from the expansion of market economies, which more and more effectively challenged the hold that guilds maintained over skilled crafts. The Masonic organizations, faced with this crisis, sometimes opted for an unusual solution: the admission to their lodges of gentlemen unconnected to the craft. From the lodges’ standpoint, this brought in needed revenues. From the standpoint of the new members, there was a cachet associated with the Masons’ symbolism, ritual, and reputed antiquity. By the early eighteenth century, few of the genuine traditional Masons remained in English lodges, so thoroughly did the new Masons supersede the old. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 610

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the guild-decline economics of why secrecy and patronage forms emerge in other crows. — connects to: Masonry’s secrecy let nativists link it to any evil group — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 609