On Day Two of the Casey Research Summit in San Antonio, the emphasis was decidedly on the "deep state," as Doug Casey termed it: what it is, what it's doing, and how to thrive despite its ubiquitous reach.

The deep state begins with government, an institution Doug describes as intrinsically evil and destructive. That's because it's empowered by enforced coercion-one of only two ways in which humans interact with one another (the alternative being voluntary cooperation).

But the deep state is more. It's not only the massive, prying, regulating apparatus of the federal government, but also the corporate structure that depends on government largess, and the lapdogs in the media and academic community that serve to perpetuate its message. All of these elements are held together with money and propaganda, and they combine to deny the vast majority of citizens true freedom.

Doug described America's "top dogs"-a few thousand elites who all know each other. They went to the same schools, belong to the same clubs, socialize amongst themselves, and scratch each other's backs. No conspiracy needed. They all know exactly what to do to maintain their position without being told. It's a closed party, and as Doug said, "We ain't invited."

Below the top dogs are the running dogs: police, military, politicians, and upper-level government and corporate functionaries who grease the wheels for those at the top. And below them are all the rest. Most are little better than whipped dogs, in Doug's view.

There's one more group, comprised of those who aren't members of the exclusive club but refuse to occupy either of the other categories. These are the ones who value freedom above all else.

Arizona defense attorney Marc Victor is one of them. The most passionate and exciting of speakers, Marc began by characterizing the state as an artificial construct solely intended to let some people boss other people around. He challenged his audience to work for a freer country by practicing freedom. To him, that means championing the right of each citizen to rule his own life-including to peacefully do or say that which you personally oppose. Freedom must be defended at the margins; otherwise it's not freedom. No one is against free speech on noncontroversial subjects. But if the worst of speech is not protected, then the definition of what must be censored will continually expand until it can include virtually anything.

Go out on a limb, Marc counseled. "Don't be a freedom wimp."

Doug's talk was actually titled "How Whipped Dogs Can Profit from the Coming Collapse of Civilization," but at the end, he admitted it was a trick question, as the answer is, "They can't." Yet everyone could profit if Doug's seven steps to reform the system somehow came to pass:

• Allow zombie corporations to fail

• Abolish all regulatory agencies

• Abolish the Federal Reserve

• Cut the size of military and associated praetorian agencies by 90%

• Sell all government assets

• Eliminate the income tax

• And finally-the only one Doug says will probably happen-default on the national debt.

When a structure is about to collapse, "it's much wiser to do a controlled demolition" than to let it take everyone by surprise.

Doug does admit that such radical changes, however sorely needed, are unlikely to be made. But he, like many other speakers, is not without hope. "Science and saving" can yet save the day, he said. John Mauldin echoed that sentiment during "The Age of Transformation," a fascinating, lightning-quick tour through cutting-edge technology. Given the geometric progression of innovation in medicine, manufacturing, communication, energy, and many other fields, the future is going to be brighter than we can even imagine.

Nick Giambruno of International Man used his time to lay out a series of practical suggestions on how to minimize your exposure to the predations of the deep state through internationalization of assets, citizenship, business, and physical and online presence.

And leave it to our own chief economist Bud Conrad to eloquently sum up why some continue to oppose the deep state rather than getting out of Dodge. Bud just put up photographs of his grandchildren.

[Note: This was written before our Saturday night banquet and the eagerly anticipated keynote speech by gadfly and uber-muckraker Alex Jones of Prison Planet. I will be covering his talk in my write-up of Day Three.]

If you'd like to hear these and all of the other great presentations given here at the Summit, be sure to order the complete audio collection and get every presentation on CD or in MP3 format. They're still available at a significant discount, so don't hesitate to take advantage of this great offer to receive all presentations and associated slides.

Don't Be a Freedom Wimp: Live from the Casey Research Summit in San Antonio was originally published at caseyresearch.com