"there's your conspiracy. But it's not really that since by definition a conspiracy is hidden from you. These folks are acting pretty much out in the open,"

Yes, that's why I emphasized the secret aspect of conspiracy theories. The next step in my attempt to explain the phenomena is to make the distinction between conspiracies and exercises of power. Power exerts power and seeks to further concentrate power. Conspiracy theories tend to ignore overt exercises of power and instead invent more fantastical stories. That's why I suspect that what is behind a significant portion of conspiracy theories is deliberate disinformation to distract from what is actually happening.