Mechanics of power

Political power -- meaning power over other people, not necessarily exercised via government or any legitimate authority -- is at the heart of pretty much every social or large-scale problem on Earth today, yet as far as we are aware there has been no formal study of how it works.

Notes

To be checked: Mongol hordes exercised power over their subjugated villages by threatening extreme retribution -- killing not just the perpetrator, but often their family or entire village -- for even small infractions. Society was sharply divided into the peasantry (who did the work and received the punishments) and the nobility (who received most of the benefits and did most of the punishing).

Links

• 2014-10-23 The Police Are Still Out of Control (h/t) by Frank Serpico
  • powermongers are righteously indignant when their harmful activities are exposed and/or stopped
    • "If it wasn’t for that fuckin' Serpico, I coulda been a millionaire today."
    • some may take retribution against whistleblowers
    • others may socially ostracize whistleblowers, even if this allows the whistleblower to come to harm
      • "If I knew it was him, I would have left him there to bleed to death."
    • tentatively: a powermonger may have supporters who have not done an independent ethical evaluation and are simply being loyal to their "friend" (the powermonger)
  • "the Narcotics division was rotten to the core, with many guys taking money from the very drug dealers they were supposed to bust."
    • piracy is more profitable than production
    • cutting funding for legitimate activities increases the incentive for illegitimate activities
  • in-group loyalty can be exploited to protect the corrupt