they do to the extent they don't want to be eaten. Sure they can retire to their fortified bunkers but that's more insurance than it is a way of life they want to promote.

If by command you mean by using coercion or compulsion. Then history has told multiple stories that show to sustain power you need more than just to command. Whether it be centuries ago like in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, the Russian Revolution of 1917, or the more recent complex stories of power like Euromaiden in 2013. In my opinion history and modern time supports the theory of hegemony very well.

Ironically one the top modern examples of the powerful understanding the need to convince and executing on those goals is the global dominance of Silicon Valley tech platforms and the billionaires that lead them.

They shape what is "common sense," and political discourse worldwide without direct command.