First is the Worst

The classic superhero phrase is "With great power comes great responsibility." Why is this the case? Because those who have the most, have the most to lose.

This is the problem of power.

Those who have the most power are the most dependent on others to sustain their power. The irony is that we frame power in terms of independence, the ability to do whatever we please. The reality, however, is much more complex. Yes, power allows you to do more, but it is also immensely limiting. The greater the power you have the more time you spend trying to maintain that power, which ironically pushes out all that great "doing whatever you want" stuff you imagined you would be doing.

America is a great example of the problem of power. We live in the most wealthy and militarily powerful country in the world, and, yet, we have severe problems with solving problems for our society as a whole. Racism and poverty are still huge issues. Our education and infrastructures are poor. Many metrics of our society rank us among third world countries.

Think of how fear is such a huge burden on American activity. We pour huge amounts of resources into our military and security institutions. Our political parties motivate us through fear, warning us of the next great terrorist attack, economic collapse, or immigrant takeover. What if all of that effort went into improvement rather than maintenance?  

The upper-middle class experience in America is also evidence of this problem. How often do families talk about money. Can we afford the new car or new vacation? Families argue about affording a new car, when the poor cannot even put food on the table for their family. Stinginess is epidemic among the wealthy. It has been shown through psychological study as well that the poor are more giving and cooperative than the rich, expending a much greater proportion of their income to benefiting others than the wealthy. This is not because the rich are bad people, but because human nature causes one's perspective and expectations to change when power is mixed in. The wealthy father worries and frets about which mutual fund to purchase, a good concern for one's financial future, but a worry created and draining of his attention entirely because he has to manage his growing amounts of stuff.

Even the philanthropic rich have a quandary of wanting to give, but also having to maintain their wealth in order to give. Bill Gates has pledged to give away all his wealth, BUT only after his death.

Americans are also weird in how we place the President of the United States and other politicians on this huge pedestal of power. The truth is the President only exists because a country of over 300 million people allow him to. Moreover, how much effort does any politician expend just trying to keep themselves in office? The politician is constantly worried about doing or saying the wrong thing and, thus, forces their own behavior into little boxes. How is that independence and freedom of the powerful?

The other big spheres of power in American society is corporations. We look at CEOs and their big salaries and imagine how great they have it. Is this true? Again, their entire existence is a balancing act of millions of things going right and allowing the business to function. They are slaves to both the functioning of the business and the demands of society, which can change. It might be hard to see this in the short term, but we see time and time again, the larger something gets the weaker it often gets.

Again and again, the story plays out. Man, superstar athletes have it great, right? What about when they get lifelong injuries and lose all their money due to lack of personal finance knowledge within a few years of retirement? Hollywood celebrities? That could be a great life if you like your picture taken every time you step outside your front door, constantly being asked to perform and never finding peace from the spotlight.

Power can be severely debilitating to true risk taking and creativity. Why take risks when I can just maintain what I already have? Why take risks when those risks could cause me to lose what I already have? Weakness seeps in through fear, complacency, and intransience.

We joke about first world problems, but is the humor derived from the pathetic nature of these complaints? It is "funny" to us because we live in this dreamworld of expectations that bears little resemblance to those of us who really have it bad...

What can one do about this problem? It needs to be forefront of the mind at anytime one desires more than they already have. That gaining power is the truly great risk, not losing it. Be careful what you sacrifice to have more. Always remember the great dependency that is invoked by power, the great corruption of power. Be wary of how your expectations and fears are warped by what you have and what you think you can afford to lose.

Be the best you can be for the world with the least amount of power you can.

And, always ask: What do I have to sacrifice to have more?