Conspiracy theory-ism, as far as I can tell, is virtually indistinguishable from religion. It is a search for answers by the intellectually desperate-- those who cannot accept chaos as a justification for grave misfortune; those who, when faced with atrocities, need to believe that humanity isn't necessarily inherently rotten* (risking a hopelessness and nihilism), but is instead manipulated by clever machinations.
The appeal for the intelligent IMO, is that they think the reason this horrible and interconnected scheme continues is that it has needed a properly motivated and clever-enough detective to not only "solve the puzzle", but to be the one to bring it out of the shadows and save humanity.
It's kind of a messiah lottery.
