Sphere of Power Part III.
What's good Power and What's Bad Power?
What’s good power, and what’s bad power? Good power wants to give people as much freedom as possible, and bad power wants everyone to conform. Good power wants balance. Bad Power wants to control. Most people understand this concept through Star Wars. The Jedi’s power is focus and balance of emotions. The Dark Side rages and rules with fear. The Jedi builds coalitions and debate ideas. The Dark side takes orders from the top and silences dissenters. Good power wants to teach people to be self-reliant. Bad Power wants people to be reliant. Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley in 1932, is a good example. The story occurs in a future society where people are genetically engineered and conditioned to conform to specific social classes and lifestyles. The government maintains control through psychological manipulation, drug use, and technology. What’s good power, and what’s bad power? In my opinion, it’s opportunity. Opportunity to decide for ourselves. But what happens when powers manipulate the way we see the world?
In our last article, we discussed the Power of the Sphere and how it’s been manipulated by corrupting forces. What are those forces? They are the Media, Political Parties, Corporations, and PACs.
Media is a powerful force in society. The media exerts power by setting the agenda and framing the issues. They are often the first to speak and they carry the loudest microphone. As a result, the media shapes public opinion. The media is responsible for using its power to hold other governmental and corporate powers to account. This power is a responsibility as the media shapes our culture.
A political party is an organized group of people who share similar political beliefs and goals and seek to gain and maintain political power through the electoral process. Political parties typically develop platforms that outline their principles, policies, and objectives. In Federalist No. 10, Madison argued that factions, or groups of citizens with a common interest or passion that is adverse to the rights of others or the interests of the community, are a natural and inevitable result of free societies.
Political parties play a central role in democratic societies, as they provide citizens with a means of participating in the political process and influencing government decisions. They mobilize voters, recruit and nominate candidates for political office, raise funds, and conduct political campaigns. Political parties also play an important role in shaping public policy by advocating for their preferred policies and working to enact them into law.
The corporation form was created in the 17th century as a way to take on tasks that individuals or governments could not take on alone, as a limited liability partnership (and then a charter from governing authority) as inferred through common law. By original design, corporations were entities created by a multitude and not a singular person or governing authority with the goal of acting as a single entity in pursuit of a specific purpose. Where the shareholders were originally the creators, traditionally the British Crown and wealthy individuals (Virginia Company and East India Company), corporations have evolved from the traditional purpose of serving the creators to serving investors, communities, and missions as traditional and non-profit corporations.
The largest drivers of change in corporations has been in America, where traditional purpose and duties have evolved over time. Examples of important changes: Federalists founding U.S. Government, Dodge v Ford Motor 1919, Citizens United v. FEC 2010.
A PAC, or political action committee, is an organization formed to raise and spend money to support or oppose political candidates or issues. PACs are formed by corporations, labor unions, trade associations, political parties, or other groups that wish to participate in the political process.
PACs are regulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which limits the amount of money PACs can contribute to political campaigns. PACs can also spend unlimited amounts of money on independent expenditures, such as advertising, if they do not coordinate with a candidate's campaign.
The ability to form and fund a PAC is a sign of political influence and access, as it demonstrates an ability to mobilize support and resources for a particular cause or candidate. PACs give an advantage to wealthy individuals and organizations as they can contribute more money to PACs and exert greater influence over the political process. PACs are used to fund negative advertising against candidates they oppose, which can be particularly effective in shaping public opinion and influencing the outcome of an election.
How have these forces corrupted us? I think back to that Simpsons episode where Homer ran for Sanitation Commissioner. His campaign slogan was “Can’t someone else do it.” After a particularly frustrating experience with the garbage collectors, Homer runs for the position and wins with promises to improve the garbage collection system. However, his ideas quickly led to chaos and a massive budget deficit, which ultimately resulted in the city being buried in trash. In desperation, Homer strikes a deal with Fat Toney, the local Mafia Boss, to have the garbage shipped to a nearby town for a fee. This plan works temporarily, but eventually, the town is overrun with trash, and the people are forced to move the town. In the end, Homer realizes the error of his ways and apologizes to the town.
Why have these forces corrupted us? People want it. Sometimes it’s good people making promises they can’t keep, and sometimes it’s people using our sense of comfort and peace against us. Our lives are busy— it would be nice if someone else did it. Sometimes it’s easier to pay someone else to do it, but what happens when you run out of money? Homer was incompetent power, not bad power. If he were bad power, he would have convinced the people of Springfield that it was all a plot by Shelbyville to destroy the town. What’s good power, and what’s bad power? Good power admits when they have made a mistake. Bad Power manipulates the mistake into someone else’s fault. Good Power tells us the truth. Bad Power tells us what we want to hear.
The Media, Corporations, Parties, and PACs wield power through advertising and the courts. They buy our attention and tell us what they want us to hear. They pay lawyers to fight rules and regulations they don’t agree with. Their focus is on profit or victory, not our safety and prosperity. They win by monetizing our time. By distracting us from the real issues and dividing us against each other. Not all the Media, Corporations, and Party members are bad power. But too many are.
In order for good power to cut through the noise and distraction of bad power, it needs focus, balance, and leadership. Our next article will discuss where people should focus on balancing the power inside the Sphere.
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