“The more profound problem, however, is the degree to which many academic intellectuals, especially in the humanities, have lost their ability to distinguish the 'state' from 'society'.”

An astute in the obvious - accurate !

We exist within a moral society. We do not exist "for" society. Conversely we may choose to live outside of, an away from society...such are the choices available to free human beings.

Will anything ever stop the government's Social Engineering?

Cal, the answer to your question is, probably not. Social engineering seems to be in the nature of government, and done for our own good, of course. Our government is infested with liberal control freaks, ninety percent unelected. They survive no matter who is president. Depressing as this is, I doubt you'll see much change after the election no matter who wins.

Dissent is conditioned out of the people in their youth via the 'education' system. It is there that state and society are merged. This is classic collectivism which then supports multiple variations: socialism, fascism, communism, feudalism, and plain old totalitarianism. We are since the early days of our youth encouraged to go along, to obey, to bow, and to serve 'society.' Consider that for thousands of years the common man has been the 'subject,' servant, and/or subordinate to a human 'lord' whether secular or ecclesiastical (often combined into one). Emperors and kings, popes and priests, dukes and barons, and generals and shoguns -- all of humankind has been assumed to be the servants of these men from birth. This mindset has been exploited for eons -- obviously the human being can be conditioned to accept permanent servitude if 'society' deems it so. And those in the upper ranks of these hierarchies know this very well and work ever tirelessly to secure the continuation of their reign. All the common man need do is throw off these yokes of delusion and take a stand, first individually then en masse.

Yes, it's an anomaly which defines our intellectual ignorance.
As for the deep state, well, that's another matter... We no longer have a stable society - Society has been flayed to the point of non-existence. There is a very small percentage that still has a grasp of reality but it is on the decline daily. When you centralized everything, then everything becomes meaningless....

The state and society are one in that every member is responsible in the status of both. Every member of society must take responsibility for the state. There is no, "that's not my job." It is most definitely your job. Socialism is the challenge of social abilities to create a sense of responsibility.