The Illuminati - Who's really in charge?

In terms of modern membership, there is no official story as no politician or government accepts the existence of an "Illuminati".
The idea of the Illuminati, in some form or another, can trace its roots as far back as the Babylonian Empire.
However, the Bavarian Illuminati, the group who's existence gave birth to the modern day conspiracy theories surrounding the movement, only dates back to 1776.
Founded by former mason Adam Weishaupt, legal professor at Ingolstadt University in Bavaria, the secret society aimed to overthrow religion and replace it with secular rule by an enlightened academic elite.
While it attracted prominent members from across Europe, the order was officially disbanded in 1785.
It is from the offshoots of this group that conspiracy theorist believe the modern Illuminati has emerged.
The secret society has appeared in novels, movies, even computer games, as a make-believe group of conspirators controlling world events.
But to conspiracy theorists, this fictional depiction is all too close to reality.

At its most basic the conspiracy theory suggests that far from disappearing in the late 18th century the Illuminati are alive and well in the modern world.
The tentacles of the organisation reach from the White House to the Federal Reserve bank; from Westminster to the Reichstag.
Joined together in a secret society to control global events, the Illuminati are responsible for all the earth-shattering changes that have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries.
Their numbers include almost every influential politician, business mogul and intellectual of the modern era.
To conspiracy theorists the Illuminati are the DNA that provides the blueprint for every act of evil from the terror attacks of 9/11 to the murder of JFK.
For evidence of this, believers point to the dynastic families and "old boys' networks" that have produced so many of our leaders.
The Skull and Bones society at Yale University is said to be a breeding ground for future Illuminati power brokers, so too Oxford, Cambridge and all the most prestigious universities in the world.
Once they rise through the ranks, Illuminati elders are said to meet behind closed doors to rig elections, plan battles and tamper with the financial markets.
Theorists claim that all the surviving US Presidents meet with captains of industry and political heavyweights from across the world in a secret ceremony in Northern California every July.
Photographs from Bohemian Grove in California appear to show meetings taking place with unusual rituals featuring men in bizarre costumes standing in front of open fire pits. But hard evidence of who these men are is supposedly being repressed by the Illuminati themselves.
With so much power, and so little accountability the Illuminati are able to guard their identities and promote puppet political leaders to do their bidding.
The only clue to their existence is the hidden symbols placed by members such as Franklin Roosevelt, who was President of the US when the all-seeing-eye was placed on the $1 bill.
In short the theory, though it differs wildly, is that the Illuminati are a group of ultra-powerful intellectuals who run the world through a secret government set-up to dictate their vision of a New World Order.

Conclusion

The very fact that a ruling class of politicians exists in Western culture would suggest that on some level the idea of the Illuminati is valid. On both sides of the Atlantic the "old boys' network" is crucial to success in politics, business, banking, academia etc. But the suggestion that this ruling class is made up of an ancient secret sect bent on world domination through the orchestration of events from the faked moon landings to the Roswell UFO crash seems fanciful. The fear of some higher force organising our lives in a "big brother" arrangement, has led conspiracy theorists to the Illuminati idea. However, there is so little evidence to support the theory, that there was no point in even drawing up the traditional Grassy Knoll list of Pros and Cons. There are no facts, there is no conspiracy, just paranoia that we are being dominated by evil forces who hide in the shadows. In the end the Illuminati conspiracy theory is a bit like religion, you either choose to subscribe on faith alone, or you don't. Frankly, I am not a believer.