Controlled Opposition

What Controlled Opposition?

When I decided to do a post on the concept of “controlled opposition” I was a little surprised at the lack of authoritative resources on the subject. A Google search returns over half a million results, but these results are almost entirely blog or forum posts from individuals discussing the topic. This state of affairs seems a little odd since controlled opposition seems to be a running theme throughout human history. It certainly appears to be in use today, although you won’t hear anybody talking about it in the mainstream.

In the absence of any authoritative work on this subject, I will attempt to define the term by discussing what appear to be the two main types of controlled opposition. In the hopes of fostering clarity, I have labelled these simply “Type I Controlled Opposition” and “Type II Controlled Opposition”. The distinction may reduce the possibility of miscommunication when discussing this topic going forward.

Controlled Opposition Definition

The one definition for controlled opposition I was able to find while searching online is from UrbanDictionary.com:

A controlled opposition is a protest movement that is actually being led by government agents. Nearly all governments in history have employed this technique to trick and subdue their adversaries. Notably Vladimir Lenin who said ”The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.”

The person who posted this definition to Urban Dictionary goes by the alias “Aliases”, so you’re probably not going to see it cited in a policy journal any time soon. Furthermore, I have not been able to establish that Vladimir Lenin ever actually made that statement. But this definition is a start, and not necessarily a bad one. However, there’s more to the concept of controlled opposition than government-created fake protest movements.

Type I Controlled Opposition and The Harlem Globetrotters Analogy

The Urban Dictionary definition quoted above is really an example of the type of controlled opposition where the controlling entity creates an opposing entity, or perhaps infiltrates and takes over an existing opposing entity, for the purpose of co-opting those political forces that are, or would, oppose the controlling entity. I know that’s a mouthful so let’s take a look at something easier to relate to, the false competition between the Harlem Globetrotters and their singular opponent for over sixty years, the Washington Generals.

Just in case you aren’t familiar with the Harlem Globetrotters, they’re “an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater, and comedy”, according to their Wikipedia page. From 1953 to 1995 the Globetrotters played only the Washington Generals, although the Generals players dressed out as other fictional teams on occasion. The Generals not only played the role of the straight men to the Globetrotters’ basketball showboating and comedic antics, they almost always lost to the Globetrotters. These weren’t real basketball games, of course, and the Washington Generals weren’t really playing to win. This was all just part of the show.

And that’s basically what I’m calling “Type I Controlled Opposition”. In the political context, you have one entity (e.g. the government, a corporation, etc.) that employs people to create a false opponent or infiltrate an existing opposing entity in order to create the illusion of a contest or conflict to the exclusion of a real one. The false opponent will attract anyone who might be interested in opposing the first entity or its agenda, but ultimately will render their efforts, and the opposing cause, impotent and prevent any real change from ever occurring. Furthermore, the existence of the false opponent will also impede, if not completely prevent, the natural development of any other real opponent as it will co-opt any new talent and dissuade others from competing with it.

Type II Controlled Opposition and the WWE Analogy

The second type of controlled opposition is exemplified by another sports entertainment franchise, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). If you’ve ever watched a WWE match, you know there’s a lot more going on than just wrestling and you also hopefully know that it’s all scripted and choreographed. There’s drama and lots of it, providing spectators a testosterone-filled soap opera with characters to root for and characters to hate.

As in national or international politics, coalitions are created and dissolved as different factions constantly vie for supremacy in the WWE universe. Sometimes characters shift from being “good” to “bad” and vice versa as the wrestlers fight it out for a coveted WWE Championship belt. At the top of all of this drama sits the McMahon family, who own the WWE and also partake in the choreographed drama. WWE fans understand that this literally is the McMahons’ universe and they pull all of the strings.

Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.” – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, The New Freedom (1913)

What I’m calling Type II Controlled Opposition works in much the same way, but not for the purposes of entertainment. Instead of one entity controlling its opposition, as we saw in type I controlled opposition, there is one entity or group that operates in the shadows and controls most, if not all, of the major players. This control group co-opts existing leadership and/or cultivates talented and ambitious people to occupy leadership positions in society.

These control group puppets are permitted to pursue their pet causes and agendas in politics, government, industry, etc., so long as it does not conflict with or threaten the control group’s agenda. But the puppets’ first duty will always be to the control group and its agenda. Naturally occurring debate and competition on issues that do not impact the control group’s agenda will foster legitimacy and public belief in the control system. The debate on non-control group issues will also give the masses someone and/or something to root for, or against, and will also help keep them distracted from the reality of the control system.

The control group remains hidden behind layers of people and organizations. Most of these people working for the control system are unaware they are doing so. But when push comes to shove, the control group interests will always trump the public interest because they control most, if not all of the players. If and when public dissatisfaction with the politics of the day approaches a boiling point, the control group will supply seemingly new leadership and/or a new movement that promises change. But the new leadership will ultimately serve the control group’s agenda and stifle any real change from ever occurring.

Is this for real?

Is controlled opposition real? Well, we know type I controlled opposition is real because we’ve seen it in operation in the modern era. From government infiltration of social justice movements in the 1960’s to billionaire funding of “grass roots” organizations in the new millennium, there is no question that type I controlled opposition is real. But type II controlled opposition is more insidious and much more difficult to prove. Probably because many of those who would knowingly participate in such a vast conspiracy would have to be controlled themselves, probably through a combination of carrot and stick.

I know it is disturbing to consider the possibility that our leaders are all controlled by a small group of people for the purposes of controlling the rest of us. But you can’t deny that people with wealth and power are naturally going to work together to protect and expand their wealth and power. It would naturally follow that at least some of the wealthy and powerful elite are willing to manipulate people and events to their advantage, even to the detriment of society at large.

But I think whether you can prove the existence of controlled opposition isn’t so important. What’s important is being aware that it is possible. Because there’s no hope of ever escaping the prison, if you’re unwilling to consider it even exists.

For Freedom,

Fatih Lengerli, Editor
PoliticalNewsReport.com

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January 7, 2017July 16, 2017

The Hegelian Dialectic

Hegel and the Advancement of History

Unless you’re either a political science or philosophy major, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is a name you’re probably not familiar with. Hegel was a German philosopher that lived in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century. His life and how he rose to prominence as a philosopher is an intriguing story, however the reason I’m talking about him in this article really has to do with what other people, people of power, have done with his work.

One of Hegel’s philosophies is known as the “Hegelian Dialectic”. At first, this philosophy seems like a benign concept that tries to explain how history progresses. This philosophy can be summed up as follows: Any idea that exists will necessarily come into conflict with its opposite. A solution will emerge from this conflict of opposing ideas and that solution will then eventually come into conflict with its own opposite idea. This conflict will produce yet another solution. That solution, in turn, will also come into conflict with its opposite to produce yet another solution, and so on and so on.

To put it in Hegel’s own terms, you start with a “thesis”, which means “the idea”. That thesis eventually comes into conflict with its “antithesis”, an opposite idea. The conflict that arises from these two opposing ideas creates the “synthesis”, which is the new idea that resolves the conflict. But it doesn’t end there. The new idea will inevitably come into conflict with its own antithesis and yield yet another solution, and so on and so on. This dialectic, Hegel said, explains the development of history, which he described as the idea of freedom unfolding.

The Hegelian Dialectic as a Tool of Mass Manipulation

The unfortunate irony here is that the Hegelian Dialectic is not only a way of explaining how history progresses, but it is also sort of a playbook on how to manipulate the masses. And therein lies the irony because the kind of people who want to manipulate the masses usually aren’t the kind of people who want to help freedom unfold. So how is it that the Hegelian Dialectic can be used to manipulate the masses?

Problem-Reaction-Solution

Hegel’s philosophy assumes that thesis, antithesis and synthesis occur naturally in society. But the use of the Hegelian Dialectic as a tool of mass manipulation involves the intentional creation of the thesis and/or the antithesis. As researcher David Icke explains, you have some agenda you want to pursue, let’s say for example it’s a war or a restriction on civil liberties, or both. But this agenda is not something the public is inclined to go along with. So you manufacture a crisis, let’s say a false military or terrorist attack. You then use agents in the media and the government to stir up the public around that crisis and put the blame on an easy target like a political, religious or ethnic minority, a foreign government or maybe something amorphous like “communism” or “terrorism”.

Then you have these same agents demand that the government take action to counter the perceived crisis and along with the government they offer up, promote and institute the very agenda that you wanted to put in place to begin with. So instead of trying to implement an unpalatable agenda directly, and potentially face opposition and public scrutiny, you avoid all of that headache by creating circumstances that make the people cry out for action, compromise their values, oppose dissenters and accept measures that would have been entirely unacceptable before.

David Icke has put this in simpler terms, calling it “problem-reaction-solution”. You create a problem that triggers a reaction from the public where they demand the government take action to address the problem and you serve up the solution that would have been an unacceptable measure under normal circumstances. The “you” in all of this isn’t just anybody, of course. It’s somebody with power and influence . And it’s really not just one person, but a group of people. It takes the coordination of government, corporate, and media resources to manipulate the masses.

You Can Use the Hegelian Dialectic, Too

I hope none of you are Machiavellian enough to want to manipulate the masses. And, no, it’s not okay to manipulate the masses for good, just in case anybody was thinking that. But you can use the Hegelian Dialectic for yourself, even though you may not ever be on the guest list at Bilderberg or Bohemian Grove. Armed with this knowledge, you now see the manipulation coming and you can educate others, as well. Which is what this blog is all about, so please share it with others.

I plan on doing additional posts discussing the Hegelian Dialectic in action, so drop me a comment if you can think of any historical events that fit this scenario. You can also Tweet me or drop me a line on Facebook or Google+.

For Freedom,

Fatih Lengerli, Editor

@PoliticalNews4u | Facebook/PoliticalNewsReport | Google+/PoliticalNewsReport | Subscribe

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Black and white stock photo of activists marching purchased from Big Stock Photo

April 8, 2017April 10, 2017

Trump Launches World War III

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