Just a speculation and wild extrapolation, but what if NWO is not something they plan to implement, but something that is already implemented and has been for at least 100 years by now?
We can all see that most of what currently goes on in the world is engineered and orchestrated with specific goals to achieve. Covid scam goes without saying, of course, but the same could be said about current Ukraine/Russia situation, 9/11, Middle East, climate scam etc, etc.
So, what if most or even all recent historical events also were engineered? What if our historical narratives are simply lies and nothing much else?
For example, NWO could have started with WW1, which was engineered and implemented in order to get rid of Old World Order - old monarchies, dynasties, old wealth, old power and such. After it most of Europe was not monarchic anymore, but became national republics with supposedly democratic governments. Large multinational institutions were put in place. Again, supposedly to maintain peace, but in reality it essentially was One World Government in the making.
Then came WW2 which introduced severe limitations of freedom, a lot of new taxes and, most importantly, very simple and easy to understand narrative through which it was easy to control masses from all sides. Divide the world into good side and bad side. Nazis vs Allies during the war and Soviets vs West after the war. WW1 narrative was too messy and too hard to follow. Who fights whom? Why? Which coutry is on which side exactly? It was all too messy and unclear. WW2 hovewer was and still is presented as some kind of epic fight of good versus evil.
And now there's Phase 3 which started at the beginning of 2020 and is now being actively escalated in many various ways. After this phase NWO might come out in the open which up until now has been hiding behind various countries, organizations and such.
TL;DR: NWO already exists and all of 20th century events did not just happen out of the blue, but have been purposefully engineered and implemented with specific goals in mind. Most of official narratives, historical as well as current ones, are simply lies.
if were in it, and in a completely controlled environment. would we even know it?
I don't think we would
Their power does not have to be absolute. They might not control everything directly. What they do control, however, is narrative and narrative is what sets events in motion. Especially these days.