Power, Identity, and the Fear of Becoming NothingFinal Part: Beyond Power, Beyond NothingnessThe Social Cost of Worshipping PowerWhen societies worship power, they do not merely reward strength—they punish vulnerability.This punishment is often subtle. It does not always arrive as violence or rejection. More commonly, it appears as silence. Invitations stop. Voices go unheard.
Power, Identity, and the Fear of Becoming Nothing Final Part: Beyond Power, Beyond Nothingness The Social Cost of Worshipping Power When societies worship power, they do not merely reward strength—they punish vulnerability. This punishment is often subtle. It does not always arrive as violence or rejection. More commonly, it appears as silence. Invitations stop. Voices go unheard. Presence becomes optional. Over time, people learn an unspoken rule: To matter, you must matter to power. This rule reshapes behavior. People chase relevance instead of truth. They perform instead of reflect. They cling to influence even when it corrodes their integrity. And when power finally slips away—as it inevitably does—the collapse feels personal, not structural. The tragedy is not that power is lost. The tragedy is that nothing was built underneath it. Power’s Greatest Deception Power’s greatest deception is not dominance. It is belonging. Power makes people feel included in reality. It cr...