Well I think much of the distinction between cultural/political/economic is in what most people would consider semantics, trivia. That isn't to say that such distinctions ought to be considered trivial, nor that most people are dumb - somewhere in between, perhaps.
Like do most people use the term political to refer to policies? Would pointing this out be received as pedantry?
That quote seems to present itself as revelatory, asserting that flows of power pass undetected as flows underneath power, but again I'm skeptical that the people in power have the cognitive wherewithal to truly strategize and pull this stuff off. Granted, all things considered, its not too difficult to more or less determine the average citizen's belief system. That said, I think much of this talk gives too much credit to those in influential positions. I think much of our hegemonic influences happen to work out - that half-baked plans beat out quarter-baked plans.