The Dark Heart Of Centralized Power

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-22/guest-post-dark-heart-centralized-power

It's little wonder so many sociopaths end up in positions of power: power attracts the ruthless unencumbered by empathy. No wonder the phrase pathology of power resonates:The Federal Reserve and the Pathology of Power (November 18, 2010).

There is an ontological darkness in centralized power, and it flows from the disconnect between authority, responsibility and consequence. A leader with vast centralized powers--a president, an emperor, a dictator--has the authority to send young citizens into combat in distant lands, but he does not carry an equal responsibility to ensure their lives are not lost in the vain glories of Empire. The consequences of his decisions do not fall on him; he is far from the combat and the loosed dogs of war. His concern is the domestic political squabbles of the Elites who support his centralized power.

All centralized power carries the same pathology: those with the authority are never exposed to the consequences of their authority, nor do they have any responsibility for the consequences. The president who launches an unwinnable war that chews up the nation's youth and treasure leaves office to fund-raise for his self-glorification, i.e. a presidential library.

The CEO whose strategies fail to revive the corporation and indeed send it to the brink of insolvency leaves with a "golden parachute" worth tens of millions of dollars.

This pathology is not the result of individual psychology or character; it is the result of centralized, concentrated power itself. Giving any individual or small group this kind of power--over war, over the nation's money and credit, over its healthcare--distorts the field of perception; even people who were once non-pathological become pathological once power takes hold of their being. Soon they believe they have god-like powers to "fix things;" indeed, they feel a responsibility to wield their god-like powers "to do whatever it takes."

But since there is no personal consequence of their rash policies, nor any responsibility for the devastation their powers unleash, the power becomes pathological.

When the multiple bubbles burst and the financial house of cards comes crumbling down, Ben Bernanke will be comfortably secure, far from the consequences of his policies. It is worth recalling, on today of all days, that only two U.S. presidents in the past 50 years had any experience of combat: John F. Kennedy and George H.W. Bush. Both men acted with care and restraint in matters of war and both sought a peaceful resolution to the Cold War. Was this merely a coincidence, or did experiencing combat inform their humility and sense of responsibility for the consequences of their choices?

The more power devolves to those who actually face the consequences of their actions and authority, the less pathological it becomes. This is the power structure of liberty: each person carries the responsibility and consequence of their actions, choices and words.