If you saw the "Illuminati" at the beginning of this essay and didn't run headlong elsewhere, thank you. It's not going to be what you think.

Let's get something straight first. There are folks on this planet who run the show. Their positions, power and influence are unquestionable. Their connections to major events and trends are not hard to find. For example, any time you see a bunch of left wing demonstrators with beautifully designed pre-printed signs, look for George Soros somewhere deep in the background.

There are numerous books, articles and videos about this phenomenon. This cabal of world controllers are variously called "The Illuminati", "The Bilderbergers", etc. Some of them may be participants in governments, but more commonly are not part of any political body. There are constraints on government officials which do not apply to individuals. This makes government an inconvenient choice for those who truly want control. It also explains why they can control so much without being visible as doing so. They typically control large banks and media companies. And remember, you don't have to be the CEO to exert control. Being a member of the board of directors of various banks, media companies and large corporations is sufficient.

In any case, it's a fact that there are a very small group of these people who actually control events and trends on this planet. Those who try to expose these people often accuse them of being cohesive in the sense that they all participate in the same daily conference calls, to coordinate efforts. This is one of the reasons such people are often ignored. The idea of a daily conference call among these people (or even weekly, or monthly) is silly. But it is true that they normally act in concert with each other, reinforcing each others' efforts. The important question is, how can such a thing happen without active and frequent communications between these people?

A rather simplistic example of how this happens is The New York Times. The Times is the paper of record. Other news organizations follow its lead almost slavishly. Other than obvious copying, how do you suppose this happens so widely? Do they do it with a daily phone call? Nope. Is there a hidden Telex line somewhere? Nope. And if not, then how does this echo chamber get created and maintained?

The answer is ridiculously simple and more obvious that you might imagine. They all think alike. That's all there is to it. Travel to your nearest institution of higher learning and do a faculty survey of political party affiliation and voting records. For an added bonus, do the same thing at your nearest newspaper or news organization. For true extra credit, repeat the same survey among the entertainment industry's elite.

And there you have it. And in all of this, you still haven't approached the true leaders of this "movement". You're just seeing the fringes, the hapless dupes and "fellow travelers" of the movement. They more or less agree to many of the major tenets of the overriding philosophy. But the people you're surveying aren't, by any stretch, the ones in actual charge. There are louder and softer voices in the crowd, but rest assured if you're hearing any voice at all, it's not one of the leaders.

By the way, in the surveys mentioned above, you will find the overwhelming affliliation is to what until recently was called "liberalism" and has now changed its name to "progressivism". This is the "left", in the current vernacular of politics in the United States. The problem is that "progressivism" also runs deeply through the "right" as well. But I only brought up the survey business to show how an entire industry or activity can be infested with a single coordinated set of convictions without ever needing to be convinced of them. In this case, three major industries, all on the same (political) page. Rest assured that all the major tenets of this philosophy are shared by the folks behind the scenes in charge.

It's also worth noting that those who are truly in charge don't work by the week or month, or even year. They work by the decade, by the generation, by the centennium. Like a spider, they wait patiently for events to unfold, and exert as little obvious pressure on the system as possible. As long as events move more or less in the right direction, they leave their influences and identities in the dark.

This essay is not where I want to get into what they actually want and why. Although it's probably safe to say that if there's something you want out of this society, they probably don't want you to have it. And what they want almost certainly isn't your personal happiness and prosperity.

Without getting into what they want, it's worth noting that there are certain calling cards which indicate their influence. Most prominent is the call for a single global government. Whenever you hear calls for such a thing, you're looking at one of their primary goals. After all, one government is a whole lot easier to control than many. And control and power are the common currency of their ideas. And just because you hear calls for such a thing doesn't mean that those you're hearing the calls from are part of the actual cabal. They're likely just fellow travelers. As I said, the influence of the true leaders is hidden.

For those in charge, it's about power and control. Over you. There is not a jot of concern for your personal happiness or safety. Such things aren't even on the radar. Once they have control, if they haven't already turned this society into their ideal, they will. And their ideal isn't something you'd want. The world they envision is one where your activities are constantly monitored. Where your freedoms are curtailed. Where your thoughts are shaped to their ends. Think 1984. Think the old soviet union. Every communist, socialist or fascist regime is an echo of what those in charge want.

There will be those who doubt what I'm saying, and write me off as a wild-eyed conspiracist. But the evidence is incontrovertible. If you want to do a really deep dive, research the boards of directors of the largest banks and media companies. Search for names which appear over and over. Now look up what other enterprises those people have their hands in. Charities, think tanks, educational institutions, etc. You'll find a lot of common names. Those people aren't sitting by idly, letting their investments grow passively.

What they are aiming for is a police state, like the ones you read about in science fiction. And if you look around you, you'll see that much of their work has already been done. London is perhaps the most surveilled city on Earth. Take a look at the Communist Manifesto, and ask yourself how many of its tenets have already been achieved in the United States. These folks are not communists per se, but their ideal world very much resembles the ideal communist state.

Can we "overthrow" these people? Not as such. They are all fantastically rich and powerful, and much of their social engineering has already been done. But just knowing what's going on, and being alert to the signs of their influence is a start. The more people who are aware, the better our chances of ultimately countering their efforts.