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I have been surprised at the acceptance of the phrase "deep state" (regardless of your opinion of the topic) because it simply sounds like a foreign phrase to t
by gumby 2y ago
I have been surprised at the acceptance of the phrase "deep state" (regardless of your opinion of the topic) because it simply sounds like a foreign phrase to the English-speaking ear.
In the US, and in English in general, the use of "State" to talk about government is largely confined to political scientists and the odd reader of Leviathan. In popular culture, terms like "bureaucrat" are more typical, oftne with "unelected" tacked on the front. And of course in the US and Australia, at least, "state" is generally used for major subnational government divisions ("state of Texas").
On the other hand, the popular use of "state" as an actor or participant in its own right comes from 19th century revolutionary theory, especially communism. So countries heavily influenced by those movements (russia and former Warsaw-pact bloc, China, even Turkey, et al) use this construct naturally.
So it's fascinating that this loan-word has become popular in English.
- coolhand2120 2y agoSeparation of church and state? Charge of the state? State owned broadcaster? Maybe it's more common than you think.
- AmpsterMan 2y agoThe OP is right that in everyday talk state is not used in the general sense of "government"
- AmpsterMan 2y agoMy own tin foil hat theory is that "state" in that usage entered into common English use (in U.S.) because of foreign actors. Rush Limbaugh, et al. have been talking about "deep state" long before it entered common use around the 2020 election.
- water9 2y agoDeep state is the CIA and FBI Who have gone rogue because they no longer are at the purview of the president. They are unelected and they need to be dismantled before it’s too late. The Texas Rangers were a state form of the FBI and that power needs to go back to the state. There is no need for an FBI and the CIA causes way more problems than they solve around the world
- water9 2y agoThe deep state refers to entities like the CIA whose job it is to gather blackmail on people (Epstein), Are not elected, and stay over between administrations thereby effectively being able to wield control through Coercion. This is plain as day, given by the fact that The Kennedy documents are still classified, even though nobody is alive from that period. They are classified because they’re protecting an institution not because they’re protecting a person. To deny there is a deep state is to Deny reality of how humans operate