The Unseen Hand, by A. Ralph Epperson, is a book that advocates for a “Conspiratorial View of History.” The central thesis posits that major historical events — including wars, economic depressions, and revolutions — are not accidental occurrences but are meticulously planned and executed by a powerful, international conspiracy. This secretive network of individuals and organizations aims to dismantle existing governments, religions, and traditional institutions to establish a totalitarian world government, or “new world order,” under its absolute control.
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The conspiracy’s primary motive is identified as the acquisition of ultimate power. Its methods are multifaceted, centering on economic manipulation and revolutionary subversion. Economically, the conspiracy uses central banks, such as the Federal Reserve, to create inflation by expanding the money supply. This “debauching of the currency” is a deliberate strategy to confiscate wealth, destroy the middle class, and eliminate the free-enterprise system. Politically, the conspiracy foments revolutions by creating and exploiting grievances to mobilize a mob (“pressure from below”), while its agents within government (“pressure from above”) enact oppressive legislation that consolidates power.
The book traces the conspiracy’s origins to the Order of the Illuminati, founded in 1776, and argues that modern Communism is merely a front for this older, deeper plot. Historical case studies, including the French, Russian, and Cuban Revolutions, are reinterpreted not as popular uprisings but as carefully orchestrated operations financed and directed by the conspiracy’s inner circle, which includes prominent international bankers and political figures.
1. Core Theses and Foundational Concepts
The Two Views of History
The source material establishes a fundamental dichotomy between two competing interpretations of historical events:
* The Accidental View of History: This is the conventional perspective, holding that events happen by chance, for no discernible reason, and that leaders are often powerless to intervene. Proponents cited include Zbigniew Brzezinski, who stated, “History is much more the product of chaos than of conspiracy.”
* The Conspiratorial View of History: This is the view the author champions, contending that major events result from the deliberate design of planners working in secret. This perspective is supported by a quote attributed to Franklin D. Roosevelt: “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, it was planned that way.”
The International Conspiracy
The book describes a single, overarching conspiracy that has operated for generations with the following characteristics:
* Objective: To achieve absolute and brutal rule over the entire human race by establishing a totalitarian “new world order.”
* Methods: The utilization of wars, depressions, inflations, and revolutions to destroy all religion, existing governments, and traditional human institutions.
* Motive: The ultimate motive is identified as Power. The pursuit of wealth is secondary, serving as a means to acquire power. The book quotes former Congressman John Schmitz: “When a person has all the money he needs, his goal becomes power.”
* Key Figures and Evidence: The existence of this network is supported by citations from various figures, including:
Walter Rathenau (1909): “Three hundred men, all of whom know one another, direct the economic destiny of Europe...”
Joseph Kennedy: “Fifty men have run America, and that’s a high figure.”
Dr. Carroll Quigley: A Georgetown University professor who, in his book Tragedy and Hope, confirmed the existence of an “international Anglophile network” which he had studied for two decades with access to its secret records. Quigley stated he had “no aversion to it or most of its aims” but believed its role should be known.
The Nature of Government and Rights
The source presents a specific political philosophy as the foundation for its analysis of the conspiracy’s actions.
* Source of Rights: A critical distinction is made between two sources of human rights:
* A Creator: Rights are “inalienable” gifts from God (Life, Liberty, Property) and cannot be legitimately taken away by man or government. This is the view of America’s founding fathers, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
* Government: Rights are privileges granted by the state and can be limited or removed by law. This view is attributed to the United Nations’ International Covenants on Human Rights (1966).
* Legitimate Function of Government: The book argues that the sole legitimate purpose of government is to protect the God-given rights of individuals, particularly the right to property. Any government function beyond this is defined as “usurpation and oppression.”
* Republic vs. Democracy: The book strongly distinguishes between these two forms of government:
* Democracy: Defined as rule by the majority, which is presented as a dangerous system where the majority can vote to take away the property and rights of the minority. The 1928 U.S. Army Training Manual is quoted, defining a democracy as resulting in “mobocracy,” “communistic” attitudes toward property, and ultimately “anarchy.”
* Republic: Defined as rule by law, embodied in a written constitution that limits the power of government and protects the rights of all citizens, including minorities. The author contends that the United States was founded as a republic, not a democracy.
2. The Conspiracy’s Modus Operandi
Economic Warfare: Inflation and Central Banking
The book identifies economic manipulation as a primary weapon of the conspiracy.
* Cause of Inflation: Inflation is defined solely as “an increase in the volume of money and credit.” A rise in prices is presented as the effect of inflation, not the cause. Attempts to control inflation through wage and price controls are deemed futile as they only address the effect.
* Purpose of Inflation: Citing John Maynard Keynes, the book asserts that inflation is the “surest means of overturning the existing basis of society.” According to a quote attributed to Lenin, its purpose is to “destroy the Capitalist system.” Inflation acts as a secret tax, allowing governments to confiscate wealth, impoverish the middle class, and enrich a select few.
* The Role of Gold: A gold standard is presented as the primary check on a government’s ability to inflate, as it requires paper currency to be redeemable in a finite commodity. The conspiracy’s goal is therefore to replace the gold standard with Fiat Money—paper currency with no backing, which can be printed without limit. President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1933 executive order recalling privately-owned gold is presented as a key step in this process.
* Historical Example: The German hyperinflation of 1923 is used as the classic case study. The source argues it was intentionally caused to destroy the German middle class, creating the social chaos that enabled a figure like Adolf Hitler to rise to power.
Monopolies and Government Control
The pursuit of monopoly is described as a core tenet of the conspiracy’s economic strategy.
* Competition as an Obstacle: The book quotes John D. Rockefeller stating, “Competition is a sin.” It argues that great fortunes are not accumulated in a free market (laissez-faire) but through the creation of monopolies.
* Coercive Monopoly: The only way to sustain a monopoly is to use the force of government to eliminate or restrict competition. The book quotes historian Antony Sutton: “The only sure road to the acquisition of massive wealth was monopoly... get state protection for your industry through compliant politicians and government regulation.”
* Fascism and Socialism: These economic systems are defined as tools for concentrating control:
* Fascism: Private ownership of capital goods, but state control over them.
* Socialism/Communism: State ownership and control of capital goods. The book argues Socialism is not a system for redistributing wealth but for concentrating and controlling it.
Revolutionary Subversion: The “Pincers Movement”
The source details a specific strategy, outlined by Czechoslovakian Communist Jan Kozak, for subverting a representative government from within.
* The Strategy:
* Pressure from Above: Conspirators infiltrate the government.
* Create a Grievance: A real or alleged problem is manufactured.
* Pressure from Below: A mob is organized to demand a government solution to the grievance.
* Legislative Action: The conspirators in government pass oppressive legislation that increases state power.
* Repeat: The cycle is repeated, with each new “solution” further eroding freedom until a totalitarian state is achieved.
* Alleged Examples:
* Adolf Hitler: Used his own party loyalists to create street terror (”pressure from below”) and then promised the German people he could end it if given power.
* Vietnam War Protests: Framed as a government-funded operation (”pressure from above” funding universities to produce protestors as “pressure from below”) designed to manipulate public opinion into accepting a “no-win” war strategy.
* Civil Rights Movement: The book alleges that Martin Luther King, Jr., who it claims was surrounded by Communists, utilized this strategy to achieve his goal, which is cited as the “extension of Federal executive power.”
3. Historical Case Studies of the Conspiracy in Action
Origins: The Order of the Illuminati
The modern conspiracy is traced back to a specific secret society.
* Founding: The Order of the Illuminati was founded on May 1, 1776, by Adam Weishaupt, a professor at Ingolstadt University in Bavaria.
* Philosophy: It was a new “religion” based on human reason, seeking to replace traditional religion. Its core tenets were that “man is not bad” but is perverted by religion and the state, and that “the end justifies the means.”
* Goals: Researcher Nesta Webster’s summary of the Illuminati’s goals is presented:
* Abolition of all ordered government.
* Abolition of private property.
* Abolition of inheritance.
* Abolition of patriotism.
* Abolition of the family and marriage.
* Abolition of all religion.
* Infiltration: Weishaupt joined the Masons in 1777 to infiltrate and control the organization, using its secrecy as a cover. The book alleges that at the Masonic Congress of Wilhemsbad in 1782, “Illuminism was injected into Freemasonry.”
The French Revolution (1789)
This event is presented as the Illuminati’s first major revolutionary success.
* A Contrived Event: The revolution is depicted not as a spontaneous popular uprising, but as a pre-planned event managed by the Illuminati.
* Manufactured Grievances: The conspiracy deliberately created the conditions for revolt by buying up grain to cause shortages, running up the national debt, and instigating massive inflation.
* Hired Mobs: The storming of the Bastille was carried out by approximately 1,000 paid brigands and foreigners, not the people of Paris. The goal was to seize weapons, as the prison held only seven inmates.
* Hidden Hand: The book cites Lord Acton: “The appalling thing in the French Revolution is not the tumult but the design... The managers remain studiously concealed and masked.”
Communism as a Front Operation
Communism is not viewed as a distinct movement but as a modern vehicle for the Illuminati’s agenda.
* Karl Marx: He is portrayed not as the ideological founder of Communism, but as a hireling. In 1847, Marx and Engels were commissioned by an existing secret society, the Communist League (an offshoot of the Illuminati), to write a party platform.
* The Communist Manifesto (1848): This book was produced on a deadline to serve as an ideological justification for a series of pre-planned “spontaneous” revolutions that erupted across Europe shortly after its publication.
* The Ten Planks: The Manifesto’s ten planks (graduated income tax, central bank, abolition of inheritance, etc.) are presented as a program for the non-violent, gradual destruction of private property and the centralization of state power. The source claims that many of these planks have since been implemented in the United States.
The Russian Revolution (1917)
The book presents the Bolshevik Revolution as a foreign-backed coup, not a domestic workers’ revolt.
* Economic Motive: The revolution’s true origin is traced to competition over Russian oil fields between Standard Oil (Rockefeller) and a Rothschild-Nobel consortium. The revolution was allegedly instigated by American and European financial interests to seize control of these resources.
* Foreign Financing: The Bolsheviks were financed by international bankers, including Jacob Schiff of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. in New York ($20 million), J.P. Morgan and Rockefeller interests, and German bankers. Additional support came from the non-violent British Fabian Society.
* Rejection by the People: In the only free election held in November 1917, the Bolsheviks received only 30% of the vote, demonstrating their lack of popular support.
* Consolidation of Power: The Bolshevik regime was saved from collapse by American intervention. The book specifically cites Herbert Hoover’s famine relief program, alleging it was used to feed the Bolshevik regime while it confiscated food from the peasants to finance industrialization, leading to the starvation of millions.
The Cuban Revolution (1959)
The rise of Fidel Castro is framed as another operation directed by elements within the U.S. government.
* U.S. Government Culpability: Former U.S. Ambassador to Cuba, Earl E. T. Smith, is quoted: “Castro could not have seized power in Cuba without the aid of the United States. American government agencies and the United States press played a major role in bringing Castro to power.”
* Known Communist: The book asserts that Castro was a known Communist agitator since 1948 and that the CIA, under Allen Dulles, had a complete dossier on his communist connections as early as 1957.
* Deliberate Deception: Despite this knowledge, key officials in the State Department and influential journalists like Herbert Matthews of the New York Times publicly denied Castro’s communist ties, enabling his rise to power.
* The Bay of Pigs (1961): This failed invasion is presented as an intentionally sabotaged operation designed to consolidate Castro’s power. The planning committee was dominated by members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and critical intelligence—such as the plan for the invasion—was leaked in the New York Times months beforehand. The promised air cover for the invaders was withheld, dooming the mission.
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