Proofs of a Conspiracy
discusses the rôle of Continental-style Freemasonry, Adam Weishaupt’s
Illuminati, and Karl Friedrich Bahrdt’s German Union in disseminating
the ‘Enlightenment’ ideas that led to the French Revolution, and is also
the founding text of the modern conspiracy theory of history in the
English language. Whatever criticisms may be made in relation to
Robison’s methodology, Proofs . . . remains valuable today for
several reasons: firstly, it provides a snapshot of Continental-style
Freemasonry and secret societies in the 18th century; secondly, it is
the earliest attempt, along with Barruel’s, to examine the rôle of
conspiracies in a revolution; thirdly, it supplies insights into what we
may call the ‘lowlands’ of the ‘Enlightenment’—not its eminent
thinkers, but the odd and peculiar characters that were also active in
this movement; and, finally, it presents a systematic critique of the
ideals that in France led eventually to the Terror, thereby serving as a
primary source for understanding opposition to the French Revolution
and its core ideal of equality as a moral absolute. The
Counter-Enlightenment arguments of authors like Robison are today more
relevant than ever, since the politics of the West remain a legacy of
his era, to the extent that even conservatives ultimately derive their
political philosophy from Locke and rely on terminology based on the
seating arrangements of the French National Assembly. Though it was soon
forgotten, Proofs . . . has had a lasting impact; indeed, we
live in times awash with conspiracy theories. Be it about the
Illuminati, the Freemasons, the New World Order, 9/11, or master
conspiracies involving all of the above, could the growth of
conspiratology tell us something about democratic societies in liberal
modernity?

The
cover artwork is by Alex Kurtagic and depicts Adam Weishaupt obtaining
secret information from his then right-hand man, Adolf Knigge.