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.

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Puppets in the Business image purchased from BigStock Photo
Male Hands holding Prison Bars image purchased from BigStock Photo