📋 The Criminal Element

Arguing against conspiracy theories is not that same as saying that real conspiracies, cover-ups, self-serving disinformation campaigns and hidden causes of major social problems never happen. They do although probably less frequently and often less dramatically that conspiracy thinking would have us believe. A case in point has to do with a major social problem, it’s explanation and a minor, but still impactful, conspiracy of sorts connected to it. The problem is, or was, violent crime. The explanation is a gasoline additive called tetra-ethyl lead. And the conspiracy was an effort to prevent Congress and regulatory bodies from banning its use since it was profitable.

Note that this story is NOT a conspiracy theory, but it does show a little bit of how the attempt to understand the causes of major social problems can be quite difficult, and how actors with selfish interests can sometimes contribute to these causes.

First an account of the social problem, its resolution and the search for an explanation.

Sick Kids Are Just the Beginning of America’s Lead Crisis

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters. When Rudy Giuliani ran for mayor of New York City in 1993, he campaigned on a platform of bringing down crime and making the city safe again.

And now the chief conspirator, his life, and contribution to the problem.

The Man Who Poisoned Us All – CounterPunch.org

Is the jury seated? Let’s begin the trial. The (spectral) gentleman in the dock tonight is named Kettering – Charles Franklin Kettering, rather tellingly called “Boss” for short by his associates during his lifetime. Born in 1876 on a small farm in Loudonville, Ohio, Kettering would grow up to become one of America’s most famous engineers.