In 2014, political scientists Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, emeritus professor of politics at UCLA and professor of decision-making at Northwestern University, respectively, analysed nearly 1,800 policy decisions made by the US government. They assessed the influence of various groups and individuals on policymakers in the US. Their objective was to understand: “Who governs? Who really rules? To what extent is the broad body of US citizens sovereign, semi-sovereign, or largely powerless?” Their conclusion:

“Economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic-Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism.”¹

As noted by Kit Knightly in an Off-Guardian article last year, when people discuss the “deep state,” they are most certainly not referring to the “administrative state.” This is an observation that all of us, including the NYT, understand. Knightly accurately observed:²

“When we talk about the Deep State … we’re talking about corrupt military and intelligence agencies, with ties to big business, who really control the government using “elected” politicians as sock puppets. We’re talking about the machinery put in place which impoverishes the poor and undermines human rights to further authoritarian control over the people whilst facilitating and accelerating the transformation of public money into private profits.“

The Covid Pandemic Exemplifies How Deep State Operations Benefit the Oligarchs

The UK policy response to the pseudo pandemic had a hugely detrimental impact of the real economy,³ which affects most of us. Yet it was a time of unprecedented
wealth creation by and for the oligarchs.⁴ While every single policy decision increased the mortality risk for all of us,⁵ billionaire philanthropists – the “Bill Gates-type people” – never had it so good. It doesn’t really matter which major policy arena we look at. Whether it’s the policy response to climate change or to the energy crisis or to spiraling global debt or to wartime sanctions – or even to war itself – the outcome is always the same.⁶ Not sometimes the same. Not occasionally the same. But consistently the same. Oligarchs always amass more wealth, influence, and resultant power via government policy decisions. And, usually, those decisions are made amidst crises.

Under Trilateralist Starmer, the Labour government’s obvious and unsurprising policy is to exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis by targeting the most vulnerable – the sick and the disabled – by cutting their benefits while simultaneously massively increasing defence spending. This one-two punch intentionally diverts UK taxpayers’ money away from the people who deserve support to the least-deserving of all: arms manufacturers and their beneficial shareholders. This is what the Government does – always, without fail. It’s standard practice. The Government does not serve the people. The idea that it does is absurd. Government exploits the people on behalf of the oligarchs who often have a hand in creating the system of rulership – of the rulers and the ruled. Voting for the next government in the hope that something will change is beyond futile; it borders on delusion.

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20241002102500/https:/www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B ↩︎
2. https://off-guardian.org/2024/03/21/turns-out-we-do-have-a-deep-state-and-its-awesome/ ↩︎
3. https://iaindavis.com/pseudopandemic/ ↩︎
4. https://archive.is/SZYVx ↩︎
5. https://iaindavis.com/planned-euthanasia/ ↩︎
6. https://archive.is/Ek36M ↩︎