The public confuses government with state because the illusion was built that way. The government is the actor — the face changes, the speech changes, but the script stays the same. The state is the one who writes, produces, and controls the show. The government is temporary; the state is permanent. When people talk about “government decisions,” what they really mean are inherited orders, continuity protocols, and interests that span decades. The state is a structure of power that survives any election, any revolution, even democracy itself.
The intelligence agencies, the armies, the supreme courts, the central banks — they all belong to the state, not the government. The prime minister can fall tomorrow, and nothing changes backstage. Secret operations, media manipulation, invisible wars — all continue with the same precision. The citizen votes for faces; the state chooses the direction. The government is the voice; the state is the one speaking through it.
The other day I was watching Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and one detail immediately jumped out at me. The journalist on TV says the government analyzed the new Captain America’s résumé — his physique, military background, overall readiness. I just stared at the screen. The government? Seriously? As if the executive branch actually decides this kind of national symbol. In real life, that would never be a political decision. Captain America symbolically belongs to the military elite — a creation that, in any real-world scenario, would be under direct control of the State, the Pentagon, the Department of Defense, and their strategic propaganda divisions. It’s the kind of decision born in invisible committees, among generals, military psychologists, and image consultants who study the cultural impact of every symbol. The “government” would only be there to present the outcome, like it was some kind of democratic choice. But that choice was made long before, behind doors the public never sees.
Confusing the government with the state is the mistake that keeps the whole illusion alive. It’s what makes the system work. As long as people believe it’s the “government” making decisions, the state moves forward — untouched, unreachable, operating in silence. The system doesn’t need to hide; it only needs people to keep looking at the wrong faces. Thinking that changing ministers changes the course of the ship is like thinking that swapping actors changes the movie’s plot. It doesn’t. Because the script is already written. Because the stage doesn’t rule. The ones who built it do.
October 2025
This article is in English. Read the Portuguese version ⇒ Ler em português