Human Nature

[Belacqua]

People merely working together toward some common goal is not a conspiracy.  A conspiracy requires coordinated illegal behaviors or, as you say, evidence of such.

Of course, if people ignore the evidence, the facts, then anything goes.  That's why, for many people, compromise has become impossible, since we now see so many bad-faith actors in politics.

So we are back to the powerful against the weak.

Conspiracies do not require illegal activity.  Criminal conspiracies do, but I don't see that this was specified.

... illegal or harmful behaviors ... then.

If "conspiracy theories" are about secret nefarious plans, I think these are almost always exaggerated. It's not like the powerful people meet in some secret underground lair to plan their evil plans. 

What's perfectly out in the open is sufficient to see that, as you say, the powerful work against the weak. And the powerful may not even think of it that way to themselves, like they don't say "I'm going to lobby my congressman for something that will hurt the weak [Mr. Burns laugh]." They simply do what is in their own best interest. 

I mean, moving all of America's factories overseas wasn't the result of some secret cabal. It was just good economic sense, if you happen to own a factory.