Voltaire – POWER

What POWER do I mean, here? 

Science defines POWER as: the rate at which WORK is done, the energy per unit time, and WORK is defined as a force through a distance.   

So POWER involves force, distance and time.  The more force and distance, the greater the POWER.  

In societies are multiple forms of POWER (besides the technical variety described above), that involving

• Leadership-management
• Economic-business
• Information-media
• Political-state,
• Personal (individual)-social
• Public and institutional,

…and even spiritual though often disregarded or ignored amid secularism and materialism.

Where there is power of the kind described above, so too is the abuse(s) of power; the more power, the more opportunity and then possibility of corruption—the abuse of power. 

Voltaire suggested:

To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize. 

One may hold solid evidence warranting criticism of someone or something but, due to the great imbalances of POWER, is effectively silenced; and thus, that which is legitimate, justified, cannot influence others or otherwise be heard to voice a sound, solid argument against strongholds of POWER laden with corruption. Those who know of this…are touched by it, often deeply hurt by and through halls filled with corruption, injustice with all its attendant ills. 

Voltaire warned:

It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. 

Criticisms and be dangerous—and especially when the word gets out and the world listens and learns.