Cabal

A cabal is a "small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority." The formation of a cabal can be a rational response to repression.

The word originates from the Hebrew Kabala via the French cabale.

The term was also used on Usenet groups to satirise the paranoia that surrounded the early internet, and conspiracy theories in general. A mysterious 'cabal' of users who secretly ran the internet was referred to, but their existence was denied, usually with the phrase 'There Is No Cabal'.

In his memoirs, David Rockefeller wrote: "Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure — one world, if you will. If that is the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."

See also

• Fifth Column