The Tyranny of Power and the Fragility of Peace
The major problem with the world is that when it comes to war, many believe it takes two to tango. It doesn’t. It only takes one bad actor to ruin any form of peace. One insecure leader, one self-righteous nation, one ideology too convinced of its own virtue.
Humanity still behaves as if power is the ultimate proof of truth. We act as though those with the most control deserve the greatest share of rewards. But if we keep living through that lens, humanity will fail. Power as the arbiter of right and wrong is an outdated idea. It’s the logic of empires and playground bullies, not conscious beings.
People across the world are slowly changing. Through access to information, they’re becoming more caring, more human, less brutal, less selfish. That evolution of empathy is real, but it brings new vulnerabilities. Those who haven’t grown, those who still believe in the old rules of domination and deception, exploit the open-heartedness of others. They use the tools of brutality to ensure we never move past the mindset of warring tribes. Hawks can’t comprehend the full consequences of their actions. They only understand dominance.
The United States, for example, doesn’t follow the very UN rules it helped write. Its sense of righteousness has become one of humanity’s greatest threats. American leaders once had the opportunity to make the world better. Instead, too often, they told lies and lined their pockets. The divided nations we see today are the chickens coming home to roost from decades of manipulation, citizens conditioned by propaganda and misdirection.
Hyper-individualism tells us that personal responsibility trumps all, while ignoring collective responsibility. Equal opportunity is sold as truth, but it’s often a lie, a story built to protect existing structures. The aim is not to explain the world, but to control it. America could lead us into a new age, but it is trapped in business as usual, paralysed by a “stupid person problem”: misinformation, reactionary politics, and a desperate attempt to cling to outdated religious and cultural values that no longer serve progress.
And yet, for all my criticism of American policy, I would still choose America over China, because at least in America you can speak the truth. No one may listen, but you can speak it. Freedom of thought, even when ignored, is still preferable to enforced silence.
When war begins, every nation drifts rightward. War forces us into “us versus them,” a mindset that kills reason and replaces it with loyalty. It’s why the powerful use war so readily. War unites populations under fear, silences dissent, and stops humanity from solving its problems collectively. It turns intelligent people into obedient ones.
This raises an uncomfortable question: is using power over reason an illegitimate form of expression? Is it tyranny by definition? Power can move things, but is it the optimal force for truth, progress, or justice? Can humanity transcend its flaws through manipulation and subjugation? History says no. Every attempt to do so has failed.
Maybe I misunderstand the nature of power, but I keep wondering whether power itself is ever a valid way to reach a conclusion. Is it not just manipulation to gain more than one deserves if all things were level and rational? What would the world look like if nations sought optimal outcomes for all, rather than advantage for a few?
Countries should be free to shape their economies as they wish, but not based on the ignorance of the masses or the greed of the powerful. The measure of any system should be whether it serves the people and the planet, not whether it maintains dominance.
Humanity will never overcome itself if it keeps choosing war over peace, fear over fairness, power over reason. To evolve, we must abandon the illusion that domination is strength. True strength lies in restraint, in logic guided by compassion, and in the courage to imagine a world that no longer needs to fight to prove it exists.