4 ms·
I'm pretty cynical, but let's be real: power doesn't have to work this way, and I don't think we do ourselves any favors acting like it does. A functional socie
by reb 4y ago
I'm pretty cynical, but let's be real: power doesn't have to work this way, and I don't think we do ourselves any favors acting like it does. A functional society finds ways to hold unchecked power accountable for pettiness, and that's a norm that doesn't go away unless all of us let it.
- kibwen 4y agoTo be more specific, societies are always threatened by actors who wield massive unilaterally-exercised power, who are only countered when enough other people band together and pool their own power in opposition.
- pessimizer 4y ago> power doesn't have to work this way Yes, it does. Power is what you can do. > A functional society finds ways to hold unchecked power accountable for pettiness This doesn't make sense. Unchecked power is not accountable.
- bombcar 4y agoMore importantly if there’s a power that can check it, then that power is the unchecked one.
- reb 4y agoWhy is that more important?
- bombcar 4y agoBecause if the problem is unchecked power, and any checked power is checked by a power that is checked or unchecked, eventually you either get a loop or an unchecked power, which can then do whatever abuse you're worried about.
- reb 4y agoHow do you figure? “Unchecked” means uncontrolled, not uncontrollable (an important distinction). In a functional social system, different powers constrain one another, which is a kind of loop I guess, but a stabilizing one.