Decepiton - dividing the flock...and culling the herd

In a previous posting, the sheep served a similar purpose; those too misinformed and/or complacent to avoid the trappings of deceit.  Even the supposed leader, a sheep dog, can find itself going upstream or against the surge when the wolves show up.  Yes, the sheep will soon falter in their trust of one given their fear of another and, against their best interest, will go the way the Dodo bird or some other creature of lesser will or way. 
 
Winston Churchill let be known that, 

When there is not enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you. 

The two faces and many facets of the deceiver is like that; playing the part of a friend, even lover, while otherwise working against you, always and finally for control and power. 

Often it not so much the few who mastermind acts of evil but those agents who do the dirty work, executing the planning of the few.  One example comes from John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman; how he and others brokered deals with the leaders of foreign nations on behalf of the state and corporations, effectively extorting the leaders to enable "the few" to colonize their resources while riddling them with financial peonage.  He says,

Fear and debt, the two most powerful tools of empire. 

It is fear that, after everything else, is the means to dividing the flock, the precursor of culling the herd. The most effective method to this (divide and conquer) in a democracy (or relatively free society) is not by brute force but through deception, duping the many to believe falsehoods and to deny or disregard facts, truth.  

The most effective way to control (dis-empower) a person is to first dupe them into believing that you have their best interest in mind, and the second, when the first fails, is finally fear of one sort or another.