Powerlessness

[Carborendum]

An interesting revision to an old phrase:

Quote

Power corrupts.  Powerlessness corrupts more.

The idea is that when people feel powerlessness, they tend toward reaching for means and methods that are unethical in any situation.  But they feel justified because it is a matter of survival.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Carborendum

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

2 hours ago, Carborendum said:

An interesting revision to an old phrase:

The idea is that when people feel powerlessness, they tend toward reaching for means and methods that are unethical in any situation.  But they feel justified because it is a matter of survival.

Power corrupts, absolute power is kind of neat. 

[NeuroTypical]

"It is difficult for an empty bag to stand upright."
- Benjamin Franklin

"Holy crap Javert, it was a friggin' loaf of bread for pete's sake.  Give it a rest - this ain't good for you."
- Theater kids

 

In all seriousness though, this is absolutely a thing.  We see it in the US whenever there's a large scale disaster that prevents aid and supplies from showing up for a week or two.  People get hungry, thirsty, dirty, cold, and scared, and social order breaks down pretty dang quickly. 

Edited July 13, 2023 by NeuroTypical

[The Folk Prophet]

On 7/13/2023 at 8:13 AM, Carborendum said:

An interesting revision to an old phrase:

The idea is that when people feel powerlessness, they tend toward reaching for means and methods that are unethical in any situation.  But they feel justified because it is a matter of survival.

Neither of these things (power or powerlessness corrupting) are even remotely true though.

[Vort]

1 hour ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Neither of these things (power or powerlessness corrupting) are even remotely true though.

I heard it on Star Trek and I read it in Spiderman, so it must be true. In the mouth of two witnesses etc.

[LDSGator]

13 minutes ago, Vort said:

I read it in Spiderman, so it must be true.

 

[Traveler]

21 hours ago, LDSGator said:

 

It seems to me that the more we try to hide what we think we are; the more it will define us.

 

The Traveler

[Traveler]

On 7/13/2023 at 8:13 AM, Carborendum said:

An interesting revision to an old phrase:

The idea is that when people feel powerlessness, they tend toward reaching for means and methods that are unethical in any situation.  But they feel justified because it is a matter of survival.

The only think that will corrupt us is what we willingly let corrupt us.

 

The Traveler

[Carborendum]

Powerlessness is what causes people to want to overcompensate.

• A kid was bullied, so he grows up wanting enough power and control to be able to bully others back again (as opposed to simply wanting to be strong enough to defend himself).
• A guy is internally very self-conscious and unsure of himself - he feels powerless.  So, he over-compensates by doing things that (he believes) will make others believe he's really got it all together.  So, he will use unethical means of obtaining money, women, power, fancy gadgets...
• What is more powerless than feeling like you can't even control yourself?  Habits, addictions... To seize power, we lie to ourselves and say that this addiction is what we really want.

For being either powerful or powerless, the corruption that comes with it is not universal.  We all know that.   But when people become corrupt, the corruption doesn't come from a vacuum.  The light of Christ that is given to all men from birth is pushed out of our hearts by certain mechanisms.

For many, the two biggest variables come from having too much or too little control over our lives (and ourselves) as we are children.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Carborendum

[The Folk Prophet]

8 hours ago, Carborendum said:

The light of Christ that is given to all men from birth is pushed out of our hearts by certain mechanisms.

Yeah. That mechanism is called choice. 

[EH12NG]

Small man syndrome is a very real thing. Overcompensation is very addictive by the looks of it. 

I think there is a lot to be said from the OP. Desperate measures for desperate times and all that.