Key Mental Models of Power Flows: Difference between revisions

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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Book !! Domain !! Key Operational Value !! Link
! Book !! Author !! Year !! Domain !! Key Operational Value !! Link
|-
|-
| The 48 Laws of Power
| The 48 Laws of Power
| Robert Greene
| 1998
| Power strategy
| Power strategy
| Codifies historical patterns of power acquisition, manipulation, and survival.
| Codifies historical patterns of power acquisition, manipulation, and survival.
Line 14: Line 16:
|-
|-
| The Prince
| The Prince
| Niccolò Machiavelli
| 1532
| Political power
| Political power
| Practical guide to maintaining state power through strategy, perception, and force.
| Practical guide to maintaining state power through strategy, perception, and force.
Line 19: Line 23:
|-
|-
| The Art of War
| The Art of War
| Sun Tzu
| ~5th century BCE
| Strategy
| Strategy
| Strategic doctrine for conflict, deception, and indirect control.
| Strategic doctrine for conflict, deception, and indirect control.
Line 24: Line 30:
|-
|-
| On War
| On War
| Carl von Clausewitz
| 1832
| Military theory
| Military theory
| War as continuation of politics; introduces friction and strategic realism.
| War as continuation of politics; introduces friction and strategic realism.
Line 29: Line 37:
|-
|-
| Propaganda
| Propaganda
| Edward Bernays
| 1928
| Narrative control
| Narrative control
| Explains how public opinion is engineered through media and messaging.
| Explains how public opinion is engineered through media and messaging.
Line 34: Line 44:
|-
|-
| Manufacturing Consent
| Manufacturing Consent
| Edward S. Herman & Noam Chomsky
| 1988
| Media systems
| Media systems
| Structural model of how media filters shape political perception.
| Structural model of how media filters shape political perception.
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|-
|-
| The Power Broker
| The Power Broker
| Robert A. Caro
| 1974
| Institutional power
| Institutional power
| Demonstrates how infrastructure control translates into long-term political dominance.
| Demonstrates how infrastructure control translates into long-term political dominance.
Line 44: Line 58:
|-
|-
| The Dictator’s Handbook
| The Dictator’s Handbook
| Bruce Bueno de Mesquita & Alastair Smith
| 2011
| Political incentives
| Political incentives
| Power maintained via coalition management and resource allocation.
| Power maintained via coalition management and resource allocation.
Line 49: Line 65:
|-
|-
| The Managerial Revolution
| The Managerial Revolution
| James Burnham
| 1941
| Institutional control
| Institutional control
| Rise of managers controlling large organizations instead of owners.
| Rise of managers controlling large organizations instead of owners.
Line 54: Line 72:
|-
|-
| The Sovereign Individual
| The Sovereign Individual
| James Dale Davidson & William Rees-Mogg
| 1997
| Macro power shifts
| Macro power shifts
| Predicts decentralization of power via technology and capital mobility.
| Predicts decentralization of power via technology and capital mobility.
Line 59: Line 79:
|-
|-
| Capital in the Twenty-First Century
| Capital in the Twenty-First Century
| Thomas Piketty
| 2013
| Financial power
| Financial power
| Empirical analysis of wealth concentration and capital accumulation dynamics.
| Empirical analysis of wealth concentration and capital accumulation dynamics.
Line 64: Line 86:
|-
|-
| Debt: The First 5000 Years
| Debt: The First 5000 Years
| David Graeber
| 2011
| Monetary systems
| Monetary systems
| Historical analysis of debt as a social and political power structure.
| Historical analysis of debt as a social and political power structure.
Line 69: Line 93:
|-
|-
| The Ascent of Money
| The Ascent of Money
| Niall Ferguson
| 2008
| Financial systems
| Financial systems
| Evolution of finance: credit, banking, bonds, and global capital markets.
| Evolution of finance: credit, banking, and global capital markets.
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_Money
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_Money
|-
|-
| The Bitcoin Standard
| The Bitcoin Standard
| Saifedean Ammous
| 2018
| Monetary alternative
| Monetary alternative
| Hard money framework; critique of fiat and central banking systems.
| Hard money framework; critique of fiat systems and central banking.
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bitcoin_Standard
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bitcoin_Standard
|-
|-
| The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
| The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
| Shoshana Zuboff
| 2019
| Technofeudalism precursor
| Technofeudalism precursor
| Explains extraction of behavioral data as a new economic and power system.
| Explains extraction of behavioral data as a new economic and power system.
Line 84: Line 114:
|-
|-
| Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism
| Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism
| Yanis Varoufakis
| 2023
| Platform power
| Platform power
| Argues transition from market capitalism to platform-controlled rent extraction systems.
| Argues shift from markets to platform-controlled rent extraction systems.
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanis_Varoufakis
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanis_Varoufakis
|}
|}
= Structure of Power Flows =
* Strategy:
** The Art of War
** On War
* Political Power:
** The Prince
** The Dictator’s Handbook
* Institutional Power:
** The Power Broker
** The Managerial Revolution
* Narrative Control:
** Propaganda
** Manufacturing Consent
* Financial Power:
** Capital in the Twenty-First Century
** Debt: The First 5000 Years
** The Ascent of Money
** The Bitcoin Standard
* Technofeudal / Platform Power:
** The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
** Technofeudalism
* Macro Shifts:
** The Sovereign Individual
= Key Insight =
Power in modern civilization operates across three tightly coupled layers:
# '''Control of people''' (behavior, narrative, legitimacy)
# '''Control of institutions''' (state, infrastructure, organizations)
# '''Control of capital''' (money, credit, platforms)
Technofeudalism emerges when:
* capital becomes platform-based
* users become dependent tenants
* ownership shifts from assets to access control


= Bottom Line =
= Bottom Line =


This expanded stack explains how power is actually exercised today:
This table now includes authorship and historical context, allowing comparison across:


* Classical power (strategy, politics)
* Pre-modern power (Machiavelli, Sun Tzu)
* Institutional control (infrastructure, bureaucracy)
* Industrial/modern state power (Clausewitz, Burnham)
* Financial dominance (capital, debt, money systems)
* Media and narrative control (Bernays, Chomsky)
* Platform control (data, networks, digital infrastructure)
* Financial dominance (Piketty, Graeber, Ferguson)
* Emerging platform control (Zuboff, Varoufakis)


Together, these define the real control architecture of modern civilization.
Together, this shows the evolution of power from physical force → institutions → capital → platforms.

Revision as of 11:14, 29 March 2026

  • Discussion is frequently wrong. For example, when we say $44k median household income, it means an absolute average of x per person when everyone is counted.
  • imperial power - common power-concentration tendencies in so-called humans - 48 Laws of Power
  • influencing behavior -

Civilization Power Flows Canon (Expanded: Finance + Technofeudalism)

Book Author Year Domain Key Operational Value Link
The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene 1998 Power strategy Codifies historical patterns of power acquisition, manipulation, and survival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_48_Laws_of_Power
The Prince Niccolò Machiavelli 1532 Political power Practical guide to maintaining state power through strategy, perception, and force. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince
The Art of War Sun Tzu ~5th century BCE Strategy Strategic doctrine for conflict, deception, and indirect control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War
On War Carl von Clausewitz 1832 Military theory War as continuation of politics; introduces friction and strategic realism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_War
Propaganda Edward Bernays 1928 Narrative control Explains how public opinion is engineered through media and messaging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_(book)
Manufacturing Consent Edward S. Herman & Noam Chomsky 1988 Media systems Structural model of how media filters shape political perception. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent
The Power Broker Robert A. Caro 1974 Institutional power Demonstrates how infrastructure control translates into long-term political dominance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_Broker
The Dictator’s Handbook Bruce Bueno de Mesquita & Alastair Smith 2011 Political incentives Power maintained via coalition management and resource allocation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dictator%27s_Handbook
The Managerial Revolution James Burnham 1941 Institutional control Rise of managers controlling large organizations instead of owners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Managerial_Revolution
The Sovereign Individual James Dale Davidson & William Rees-Mogg 1997 Macro power shifts Predicts decentralization of power via technology and capital mobility. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sovereign_Individual
Capital in the Twenty-First Century Thomas Piketty 2013 Financial power Empirical analysis of wealth concentration and capital accumulation dynamics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_in_the_Twenty-First_Century
Debt: The First 5000 Years David Graeber 2011 Monetary systems Historical analysis of debt as a social and political power structure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years
The Ascent of Money Niall Ferguson 2008 Financial systems Evolution of finance: credit, banking, and global capital markets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_Money
The Bitcoin Standard Saifedean Ammous 2018 Monetary alternative Hard money framework; critique of fiat systems and central banking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bitcoin_Standard
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Shoshana Zuboff 2019 Technofeudalism precursor Explains extraction of behavioral data as a new economic and power system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Surveillance_Capitalism
Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism Yanis Varoufakis 2023 Platform power Argues shift from markets to platform-controlled rent extraction systems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanis_Varoufakis

Bottom Line

This table now includes authorship and historical context, allowing comparison across:

  • Pre-modern power (Machiavelli, Sun Tzu)
  • Industrial/modern state power (Clausewitz, Burnham)
  • Media and narrative control (Bernays, Chomsky)
  • Financial dominance (Piketty, Graeber, Ferguson)
  • Emerging platform control (Zuboff, Varoufakis)

Together, this shows the evolution of power from physical force → institutions → capital → platforms.

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