While it may seem like the corruption and cronyism that has grown rampant in DC and WallStreet is a result of organic self interest, almost every larger geopolitical and geostrategic move we make is focused on the immediate short term, with a complete ignorance of future blow back. At first this just seems like self interest combined with incompetence, but after years of trying to understand the bigger picture since I participated in the Iraq war, I have come to a different conclusion:
The Supranational oligarchy, in particular the British oligarchy of London City and the vestiges of monarchy around the globe, have infiltrated and subverted our government at the very highest levels in order to bring us down from within, and pave a path for the solution side of the hegellian dialectic to be to join global government.
I actually have plenty of references and citations to back this up, but to be frank I question if the turn key totalitarian surveillance state has already been given to much power, if that dissenting will become dangerous to life at some point when they install a dictator, break all the encrypted comma stored in Utah and Texas, and start walking the cat back.
As Hitchens said, The American Revolution is the only revolution left that still stands a chance. I think McCarthy, for all his antics, was actually onto something, but he went after low totem pole people and should have focusing at the very top of agencies.
An NSA equivalent to the star chamber and a CIA formed by the teachings of the British by WallStreet lawyers (which are almost all lackeys for London), would then start to fit the current picture state of things much better than simple Machiavellianism run amok.