> overarching conspiracy theory.

it's because it's so easy to simply blame the ills of society on some illusory few pulling the strings behind the scenes. It used to be the migrants, or blacks, or the chinese (still is apparently) or the japanese...and now, it's the rich/shadowy figures etc.

The actual truth is that the collective actions of everybody leads to certain outcomes - today's outcomes. It can't really have happened any other way.