Outsiders misconstrue tightly organized social groups as secret conspiracies.

Evidence

Excluded as it is from society and political representation, the mob turns of necessity to extraparliamentary action. Moreover, it is inclined to seek the real forces of political life in those movements and influences which are hidden from view and work behind the scenes. There can be no doubt that during the nineteenth century Jewry fell into this category, as did Freemasonry (especially in Latin countries) and the Jesuits. It is, of course, utterly untrue that any of these groups really constituted a secret society bent on dominating the world by means of a gigantic conspiracy. Nevertheless, it is true that their influence, however overt it may have been, was exerted beyond the formal realm of politics, operating on a large scale in lobbies, lodges, and the confessional. Ever since the French Revolution these three groups have shared the doubtful honor of being, in the eyes of the European mob, the pivotal point of world politics. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 311 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Unofficial social admission barriers breed outsider belief in hidden conspiracies.; Communities rationally distrust outsiders for lack of knowledge, not just prejudice; Political exclusion drives the mob toward conspiratorial readings of power — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 311 (+6 more)

Related

• Unofficial social admission barriers breed outsider belief in hidden conspiracies. (similarity 0.94)
• Political exclusion drives the mob toward conspiratorial readings of power (similarity 0.85)
• Open democratic societies make any secret association read as malicious (similarity 0.82)
• Mystified power thrives when citizens are far from its sources (similarity 0.79)
• Totalitarian movements replicate the structure and psychology of secret societies in public (similarity 0.79)
• Exclusion from elite clubs, not political failure, shaped outsiders’ belief in secret societies (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Communities rationally distrust outsiders for lack of knowledge, not just prejudice #expands (0.80)
• Communal trustworthiness often turns outsiders into targets of abuse #corroborates (0.80)
• Political exclusion drives the mob toward conspiratorial readings of power #expands (0.75) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 311