March 7, 2017
WE ARE THE dEEP sTATE:
Rumblings of a 'Deep State' Undermining Trump? It Was Once a Foreign Concept (JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, MARCH 6, 2017, NY Times)
The concept of a "deep state" -- a shadowy network of agency or military officials who secretly conspire to influence government policy -- is more often used to describe countries like Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, where authoritarian elements band together to undercut democratically elected leaders. But inside the West Wing, Mr. Trump and his inner circle, particularly his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, see the influence of such forces at work within the United States, essentially arguing that their own government is being undermined from within.
Fascism, as opposed to Nazism, communism, etc., generally allies with traditional institutions--church, business, judiciary, military, etc.--to protect the state from destruction. That's why places like Spain, Portugal, Chile, the Philippines, etc. were able to avoid the disaster of communist regimes.
In a democracy, all of us are the deep state. They are our institutions.
Posted by Orrin Judd at March 7, 2017 7:16 AM