Political exclusion drives the mob toward conspiratorial readings of power

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

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s Islamophobia toolkit: the mob’s construction of hidden Jewry as a secret power bloc is the nineteenth-century template for later conspiracy-driven readings of minorities — echoes ‘Complaints About Immodesty’ style moral-panic dynamics and anticipates Islamophobia’s ‘hidden agenda’ tropes. — connects to: Mystified power thrives when citizens are far from its sources; Unofficial social admission barriers breed outsider belief in hidden conspiracies.; Outsiders misconstrue tightly organized social groups as secret conspiracies. (+16 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 311

Broader Connections

• Politicians gain power by promising protection against imagined threats #exemplifies (0.78) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 329
• The core problem is power that resists politicization #complicates (0.75)
• In totalitarian states, real power correlates inversely with institutional visibility #expands (0.72)
• Power circulates through networks rather than being possessed by rulers #qualifies (0.72) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 47