The very personal, destructive effect,

[JHan]

90. Yes, I'm familiar with it..

I'm even more dismissive of these narratives with Trump in office.

The idea that it doesn't matter who is in office because the "Deep state" ensures things remain the same has been smashed with Trump's attack on the status quo ( cuts at the state department, attacks on security agencies, introducing climate change denialism at the EPA). The only way this assault stops is through the electoral process and a change in administration.

And what is the real impact of this view? How do citizens fight back if they're sold the idea that 'nothing changes' ? It's not as if outside agitation changes anything in and of itself because it doesn't....Occupy Wall Street, for example, soured democrats in the 2010 midterms which gave the GOP a hold on congress *in a census year* and allowed them free reign to gerrymander and obstruct Obama's reforms for 6 years. Change always occurs through the electoral system, through the constitution and Deep State narratives contribute to a lack of faith in those institutions . These narratives are most appealing to cynical anti-statists and the dualists - the red pill vs blue pill types who see things through a "good" vs "bad" frame of reference-, the anti-statists despise government and the dualists are ignorant about systems of power and how to leverage those systems. And coincidentally a lack of faith in Government has been central to GOP philosophy for decades because the aim of anti-government attitudes is to weaken government, through cuts in funding of agencies and lower tax revenues to fund those agencies and institutions ( as a result of tax cuts) It was no surprise to me then to see the Trump administration seize the Deep State meme and run with it - how's that working for the country so far? Not very well.

Anyway the Deep State really doesn't concern me as much as information wars. Conventional wisdom used to be that more data solves everything : more info and greater transparency was supposed to create a more informed citizenry. However what we're currently faced with is the manipulation and weaponization of data which turns "truth" on its head creating confusion and chaos - every authoritarian's wet dream.