Might is Right
An Iron Law?
Once long ago I was a new student at a school in grade 9. Many of my classmates were bussed in from fishing villages outside the city. They were an intimidating bunch to a newly arrived city boy like me. One day I made a mistake.
I demonstrated that I could wiggle my ears.
That lead to big guys coming up to me and demanding that I wiggle my ears for them. I ignored them and in a short while they subsided and went on to other interests.
That points to a limit on might. The mighty want people to fear them and if the fear evaporates then so does the might.
Full disclosure: if a pretty girl had asked for the demonstration I would have gladly complied
Since the mighty only legitimize their power through fear then they become terrorists. After all, the definition of terrorism is violent action designed to sway a population by making them fearful for their lives.
Canada once faced a wave of terrorism years ago - the FLQ (Front for the Liberation of Quebec) was placing bombs in mailboxes and kidnapping people and executing them. They thought they were mighty and were forcing us to do their will.
Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act and suspended civil liberties and had them all arrested. I think they are still in jail.
And - successful as he was - most Canadians dislike his legacy. He got arrogant - gave the finger to protesters as his train passed through Salmon Arm. The mighty get arrogant before the fall.
In the USA one of Trump's henchmen has said that might is right is an iron law. He's making a logical error because he thinks of right in the sense of "the customer is always right". That - most of us have to do what the mighty say or they will harm us. But in terms of wisdom or knowledge of reality, might is often wrong.
The world has many people who think that they or their country is mighty. They think they are King of the Hill. but there is a problem. That is, there never is a 'king of the hill' whom everyone else must obey. There are always wanna be kings trying to take over. This competition among kings does a lot of collateral damage. The UN was created as an attempt to limit that competition and bring it under the umbrella of a rule of law.
Capitalists see themselves as mighty it seems. They are property owners and nobody can tell them what to do or not do with their property. They were outraged, sometimes murderously so, at the rise of unions.By the 1950s most corporations (according to JKGalbraith) were prospering by embracing unions. The unions got increased pay and benefits and the corp got a happy and stable workforce.
I must say, looking back at my life here in Canada I think I've led a charmed existence in a sort of historical sweet spot. That is, dictators and bullies (the mighty) have been very far away. Heck, I could set off alone on my bike to ride across the continent without even taking a gun.
I live in a constitutional democracy. Most of the people I know do too. Well functioning democracies have systems of checks and balances that limit how mighty anyone or any organization can become. One might say I've lived with a 'well regulated capitalism". I think that kind of system maximizes both prosperity and personal freedom of action.
The "well regulated" bit sticks in the craw of many who yearn to be mighty. They are like: Rules in a knife fight?!!! They yearn for freedom from oppression. They prefer to be oppressors. It's a psychological thing.
What do you think?
I present regular philosophy discussions in a virtual reality called Second Life.
I set a topic and people come as avatars and sit around a virtual table to discuss it.
Each week I write a short essay to set the topic.
I show a selection of them here.