3 ms·
>Is there some zero-sum pie of power Yes, that's exactly how power works. You can dilute power (in non-hierarchical organizations) or you can concentrate it (
by GeoAtreides 1y ago
>Is there some zero-sum pie of power
Yes, that's exactly how power works. You can dilute power (in non-hierarchical organizations) or you can concentrate it (in rigidly hierarchical societies), but there's a finite amount of it and it's deeply coveted by all
- shiandow 1y agoThat is a symplistic view, two people can achieve a lot more together than individually and today's society can achieve a lot more than prehistoric humanity. I can get fruit and spices delivered to me that a Roman emperor would barely be aware of, and I can do so without leaving my bed.
- GeoAtreides 1y agoThe issue was power, not cooperation. Not sure where modern logistic chains come into play when talking about power.
- shiandow 1y agoIf power is not the ability to make things happen then what is it?
- GeoAtreides 1y agoPower is a boot stamping on a human face — forever.
- solatic 1y agoNo, this isn't how power works. Money/wealth is economic power, which can be grown through the application of renewable resources (e.g. human labor, electricity, resources that can be grown like wood) to build that which is more valuable to the participants of a transaction than the sum of its parts. As more wealth is created, more areas of power are created. If you disband a hierarchy (e.g. a company goes bankrupt/out of business), power hasn't been diluted back down to the individual level, rather power has been destroyed. Hypothetically, if humanity went extinct tomorrow, there would be no power left at all.
- GeoAtreides 1y agoWealth is not power, but a means through which power is applied. It's not the only one, of course. Disbanding a hierarchy can be achieved in many ways, the consequences being as varied.