Many call the idea that there's a Deep State a “conspiracy theory”. But is this automatically the case? Don't we need good reasons as to why it's so? Is the idea impossible in principle? And doesn't it all depend on precisely what's said about the Deep State? For example, the notion of a Deep State can include a vast conspiracy behind closed doors. Alternatively (or perhaps in conjunction), it can simply be about (among other things) what I call Gramscian/Alinskyite institutions and the consequent conspiring which undoubtedly occurs when institutions (or their members) share a political ideology and/or political causes and goals. It seems bizarre, anyway, that the idea of a “deep state” (or “shadow government”) is automatically deemed a conspiracy theory when (according to one definition, at least) all it means is that there are individuals and institutions, which are separate from -- and independent of -- the...(Read Full Article)