I think it's fair to say that most people operate under the assumption that civilization, such as it is, has been undergoing a constant state of change and evolution, a process that many would characterize as "progress". But is that really the case? Is there any fundamental difference between how ancient Egypt or Rome operated and how ostensibly "enlightened" western nations operate? I would concede that the rhetoric and the dialectic have changed significantly, but has the actual substance of power dynamics reflected that change? I would contend that it has not. We still live in a world where a tiny elite control society through a combination of psychological conditioning and brute force. The packaging may be different, but the results are largely the same.