There is a vast difference between a conspiracy and a conspiracy theory. The conspiracy, as Tangerine said, 2 or more conspire to do something. A
conspiracy theory is an explanatory or speculative
hypothesis suggesting that two or more persons, or an organization, have conspired to cause or
cover up, through secret planning and deliberate action, an event or situation typically regarded as illegal or harmful. The term
conspiracy theory has derogatory connotations, suggesting explanations that invoke
conspiracies without warrant, often producing hypotheses that contradict the prevailing understanding of historical events or simple facts.
If were are talking about just conspiracies, then yes, we probably run into them multiple times daily in our own lives. Two guys at your job set up a situation to make you look bad is a conspiracy. Two people set up a situation to gin up the company stock, and then buy it up at a reduced cost. A discussion about whether or not governments do certain things in an underhanded manner is ludicrous, of course they do and have done since gov't was invented.
