Origins of “The Deep State”

“...if everyone suddenly woke and realized…” ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ March 1, 2024  |  [Sign Up]( Origins of “The Deep State” “I wonder what would happen if everyone suddenly woke up together and realized they’d been living in an invisible prison run by greedy psychopaths.” ― Sol Luckman [Special Reminder: In case you missed our late-day announcement yesterday, [The Real October Surprise]( The Essential Investor has merged with legacy contributors to Agora Financial. The new, larger, more inclusive project is called The Grey Swan Investment Fraternity. If you’re interested in the scope and benefits of our new endeavor, please see what prompted us to merge [here](. If you’ve been a member of The Essential Investor, please keep an eye out for your new benefits.] Dear Reader, March 1, 2024 – One of the benefits of working with Bill Bonner over the years  has been access to his wide-breadth knowledge of history, particularly military history. Off the top of his head, as he does in today’s essay, he can tell you in sweeping terms what happened during the conflicts that marked the major turning points in Western Civilization. Today, the body of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was laid to rest. Navalny’s a martyr, according to the narrative being repeated ad nauseam in the popular news cycle. Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei’s widow, did not attend her husband’s funeral for fear of her own safety. Yulia will take up Alexei’s mantle. Anyone in the West not paying much attention will think “yeah, okay, that makes sense.” She will now speak for the Russian masses who didn’t benefit from perestroika. The great unwashed who didn’t seize the “commanding heights” of the economy – steel, mining, agriculture, transportation and media (now including internet), as Lenin called them during the revolution in 1917. The widow Yulia is the West’s new hero. Propaganda is as old as conflict itself. Historian Edward Bernays defined it in his book of the same name back in 1928: The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element of democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. Bernays is describing “the deep state” long before the phrase became a chic internet meme. The above quote comes courtesy of our friend Marc Faber in his latest Gloom, Boom, Doom Report. “In view of the upcoming U.S. presidential election,” Faber writes, “politicians and their media hacks will always twist the truth and present events in a way that is beneficial to themselves, while at the same time ‘smearing’ their opponents with inaccuracies and outright lies.” In our reader mailbox, we’ve recently been accused of being Republican shills or parroting Fox News. It’s apparently a thing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Personally, I don’t vote. “Why encourage the bastards?” PJ O’Rourke famously said about voting. I don’t have an opinion about Fox News because I don’t watch it. I like the term “deep state” about as much as I like the term “woke.” Which is to say, not at all. Both are dog whistles for partisanship.  That said, I do have a little sympathy. I recognize it’s hard for people to think about the world, their country, in some other capacity than what Republican or Democrat strategists want them to think. It’s hard to muddle through the propaganda. In the end, I prefer independent thinking. In today’s guest essay, Bill tackles the “deep state” in his own characteristic way. – Enjoy, Addison If you have a comment you’d like to share, please send it to addison@greyswanfraternity.com. CONTINUED BELOW... 2024 – The Real Election Year Surprise In 2016, the October Election Surprise was Hillary Clinton’s email scandal… In 2020, the October Election Surprise was the suppression of all the dirty material on Hunter Biden’s “forgotten” laptop… Now, in 2024, we’re forecasting an October Election Surprise that almost no one sees coming — and this time it’ll be way more devastating than anything you’ve seen before. [Click here to learn about 2024’s real October Election Surprise »]( It’s not at all what you think. CONTINUED... The Military/Industrial/Spook/Media Complex Is it really necessary to attack Kursk, and indeed in the east this year at all? Do you think anyone even knows where Kursk is? The entire world doesn't care if we capture Kursk or not. What is the reason that is forcing us to attack this year on Kursk, or even more, on the Eastern Front? ~ General Heinz Guderian Youghal, Ireland – Military leaders are often blockheads. Civilian leaders are, too. And when they get together, what follows is rarely welcome. The military-industrial complex calls the shots; they are often fatal. The U.S. approaches what promises to be the most widely anticipated and most easily avoided crisis of its history. It owes $34 trillion. Soon – given current forecasts – the debt will grow to $40 trillion…and then to $50 trillion. No nation has ever survived such a huge debt load – not without bankruptcy, depression, serious inflation, revolution, or war…sometimes all of them. What follows, we believe, is why the U.S. will be no exception. Consensual Rules Heinz Guderian was no fool. It was he who invented the Blitzkrieg…the use of tanks without infantry support to disrupt the enemies’ communications and create panic among their troops.  He was born in what is now known as Chelmno, Poland. But it was Prussian territory when he came into the world. And the Prussians had conquered it centuries before. Tough. Clever. They were the backbone of the Wehrmacht officer class. They were also the ones who had the most to lose in Hitler’s war against the Soviets. Their homeland was in the East, where it was most vulnerable to the Soviet Union.   Guderian’s family lost its home when Poland regained control of the area after WWI. Then, in 1939, Guderian took command of the XIX Army corp, spearheaded a drive into Poland, and ‘liberated’ his childhood home. Ever since the rise of civilized societies, a major problem has been how to keep people like Heinz Guderian under control. By definition (ours) civilized societies prefer to settle their affairs without violence. They rely on “consensual rules,” not brute force. People agree on what laws and regulations they will follow. They drive on the right…or the left… Women are allowed to appear in public without a headscarf – or not. They vote for their leaders – or not. Etc. Armies are meant to project violence…not civilization. They are the muscle of the State…expected to kill or be killed in order to promote the government’s agenda. But in the modern world, their tendencies towards murder and mayhem are supposed to be held in check by civilian command.  Unconditional Surrender That’s what didn’t happen in Nazi Germany. Military and civilian power came together in the person of Adolf Hitler, who donned a field-gray uniform in September, 1939. So it was that General Heinz Guderian found himself subordinate to the former corporal, now Fuhrer.  In 1943, Hitler was insisting that his tanks attack the Soviets at Kursk. Guderian opposed the campaign. After months of preparation and hesitation, there was little hope of success. The Soviets already had the Germans’ battle plans and had already prepared for them. The Soviets could merely let the Germans exhaust themselves against their defenses, and then, with more tanks and more men than the Wehrmacht could put into the field, they would counterattack. And that’s what happened.  By then, the Nazis were losing the war. The Allies were advancing through Sicily…and Italy was wobbling, preparing to hang Benito Mussolini from a light post and welcome the invading U.S. troops. The only real questions were when and how the end came.  Hitler was clearly an impediment to any decent solution…not only with his amateurish military commands; he also stood in the way of a negotiated settlement. In January of 1943, FDR announced that the allies would only accept an “unconditional surrender.”  Still, had Germany gotten rid of the Fuhrer, brought its troops back to Germany, and promised never again to go on the warpath, it might have been possible to avoid total surrender and occupation.  Emperors, kings, and parliaments always struggled to keep their fighting men in line. They were expensive to keep in the field. And dangerous to keep too close to home. A powerful general might lead a coup d’etat against the civil authorities.  That’s why Caesar was not supposed to come to Rome at the head of his army; the troops were meant to stay on the other side of the Rubicon river. Caesar was popular with his troops. But even he had to face a mutiny, which he dealt with smoothly. Unwarranted Influence After William the Conqueror had taken control of most of England, he went back to Normandy, leaving his new kingdom with trusted subordinates. Alas, the army went wild – raping, pillaging, looting across much of the South of England. William returned to put them in order, but by then the English were so enraged that they rebelled…leading to further costly war. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527 was perhaps a less able commander; his troops went wild. It didn’t help that he neglected to pay them. They attacked Rome, looting, kidnapping, and killing. Pope Clement VII escaped to the Castel Sant’Angelo. He survived by paying a ransom to the mutinous troops. But his Swiss Guard members were annihilated. What enables a civilian government to control its military? Money. Real money. Governments typically control the tax revenue…and use it to keep their fighting men on a short leash. But when the U.S. switched to a ‘fake’ money – which it could create in seemingly boundless quantities – it also let loose the dogs of war.  Pentagon budgets increased…even after 1991, when the Soviet Union disbanded.  This left the military-industrial complex with billions in ‘excess’ funds, which it used to suborn Congress and corral the media, think tanks, and universities.  Dwight Eisenhower was not merely spreading a ‘conspiracy theory’ when he warned that the firepower industry might soon exert an ‘unwarranted influence’ on the civilian government; he was merely observing a trend. Powerful groups want more power. And unless they are constrained, they will get it. Real money used to limit government spending – including the number one rat hole money goes down, the firepower industry. After 1971, Congress – richly lobbied by military suppliers – voted for one increase after another. Politicians tried to out-do each other by being ‘strong on defense.’ And today, it’s not the civilian leaders who hold their gunmen in check, it’s the military/industrial/spook/media complex that prevents the feds from heading off the coming catastrophe. – Bill Bonner So it goes, Addison Wiggin, The Wiggin Sessions P.S. Fact is, it won’t matter who wins the election in November. If you’re interested in our take on what’s actually going to matter to you and your finances before then, please read [The Real October Surprise](  Please send your comments, reactions, opprobrium, vitriol and praise to: addison@greyswanfraternity.com The Daily Missive from The Wiggin Sessions is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. By submitting your email address, you consent to The Wiggn Sessions delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your The Daily Missive from The Wiggin Sessions e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from The Daily Missive from The Wiggin Sessions, feel free to [click here.]( Please read our [Privacy Statement.]( For any further comments or concerns please email us at feedback@wigginsessions.com. If you are having trouble receiving your The Wiggin Sessions subscription, you can ensure its arrival in your mailbox by [whitelisting The Wiggin Sessions.]( © 2023 The Wiggin Sessions 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore MD 21201. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security they personally recommend to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after online publication or 72 hours after the mailing of a printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Paradigm Press, LLC., 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States