# The Art of Staying in Power – Force, Consent, and Organisation

The rule of the elite is not simply a matter of inherent superiority or brute force. While the capacity for decisive action, even violence, remains the ultimate reserve of power, continuous governance demands more. It requires the cultivation of consent. The ruling class understands that a society held together by force alone is unstable, prone to rebellion, and inefficient. True, durable power rests on the artful combination of both coercion and conviction.

This blend is achieved primarily through organisation and the control of crucial levers within society. The minority’s strength lies in its cohesion, its ability to coordinate, and its mastery of the mechanisms that shape public sentiment. The masses, by contrast, are typically diffuse, unorganised, and preoccupied with the immediate demands of life. This fundamental asymmetry is a constant in the exercise of power.

Central to maintaining this delicate balance are what are termed “political formulas,” “ideologies,” and “myths.” These are not mere falsehoods, but the necessary fictions that provide legitimacy to rule. They are the frameworks of ideas, religious doctrines, philosophical systems, democratic ideals, national narratives, that explain why the elite should rule and why the majority should obey. These formulas present the interests of the ruling class not as self-serving, but as universal values: “truth,” “justice,” “the common good,” “freedom,” or “God’s will.”

Consider how modern states invoke “democracy,” “the free market,” or “science” not as mere tools, but as sacred truths. These are not neutral descriptions of governance, they are political formulas. They convert elite interests into moral mandates. The central bank does not announce it is manipulating value; it “stabilises the economy.” Military invasions are rarely called what they are, they are “humanitarian interventions.” Even censorship becomes “protection against harm.”

The U.S. Constitution, for example, is treated as a sacred text. Yet power has continually consolidated behind it, from landowning aristocrats to corporate lobbies and federal agencies. “We the people” is the invocation. The true machinery lies elsewhere. Elections create the appearance of choice, but the consensus that matters is forged beforehand, among donors, media interests, and managerial elites insulated from accountability.

This is how the ideological tapestry is woven. The ruling elite does not declare, “We rule for our own benefit.” Instead, they speak of “the people,” “national security,” or “progress.” These powerful symbols generate loyalty, unity, and a willingness to accept the existing order. They are the psychological glue that binds society, creating a collective understanding—or misunderstanding—that obscures the actual power dynamics.

The ruling class, therefore, maintains its position not just by controlling armies or treasuries, but by shaping the very way society thinks about itself and its governance. They are the architects of the narrative, the custodians of the myths that make power palatable. This is the subtle art of staying in power: to organise effectively, to command strategic resources, and, most importantly, to weave the ideological fabric that renders obedience a matter of natural order, or even moral imperative.