Power balance is essential to keep us decent

Experiment

Rainy day. Pedestrian waiting by the side of the road with an umbrella in one hand and a phone in the other. All cars rush by to whereever they need to go, mindlessly splashing the pedestrian in the process.

Same rainy day. Same pedestrian waiting by the side of the road with an umbrella in one hand but, this time, with a brick in the other. The same cars that rushed by before now take notices and systematically slow down. The pedestrian stays dry.

Commentry

I don't know about you, but my intuition did not anticipate the result of the experiment. Like you, I also indulge often in the thought that we're fundamentally kind and good.

The idea that, when nobody's looking, the majority of us will do the right/ considerate thing for our neighbour isn't outrageous - it's the standard.

Perhaps we're not. Parhaps the echo chamber that I'm in prevents me to see the reality perpetuated everywhere since the dawn of our species (and perhaps from the dawn of life itself): power and strength are the key drivers of social compromise, not care for the other person.

The fear of consequences, loss, damage is a lot more salient to our cognition than the intrinsic reward of quietly doing the right thing for a stranger.

If you extrapolate this idea to what happens behind closed doors, it's terrifying - think about all the corporate deals, all the government agreements, all the decisions, all the conseqneces.

The video is a reminder that a hope for people in power to be compassionate may not be enough. Perhaps we need a more distributed power balance.

This is not as easy as saying "well, everyone has a vote" - real, effective power balanaces will enable each party to keep each other in check.

You may have a vote, but if you're the only one scrutinising the government on your street, that won't matter much. It gets worse - even if you find yourself scrutinising the government with everyone else on your street, but if you are not an expert in the issues at hand, that also won't matter than much.

I hope you understand that, a system where power is distrituted truly (not a mere token of it) can only be built on sound education and must be fuelled by an ongoing interest for ever-increasing positive outcomes.

You have to know/ articulate what you want, and then commit energy towards puruing it. That would be a worthy ideal for central governments to push for - it may lead to their own demise, but it may also bring about an eutopia in the long run.

Parting thoughts

An appeal to reason by way of showing strength may be more effective than an appeal to mercy.

Instead of deing disenchanted with the world that splashes you, perhaps grab a brick. Fight asymetries of power by educating yourself and committing yourself to worthy causes - it's incredible what knowledge can unlock for you if you compound it over days/ weeks/ years/ decades.