The thing about power games is that you either see them for what they are or you don't

When you're younger, you're usually not aware of them because we're not taught about the world in those terms

When you're older, many people don't want to believe the world works that way

This is both a cynical and a correct take, and the more you are unaware of power games (either deliberately as a defense mechanism or out of ignorance/youth) the more cynical it seems

But I've watched it play out over and over and over again for 30 years.

Sometimes my friends think it's weird how obsessed I am with power (in terms of claiming my own power and paying attention to other people's) and it's because I'm hyper sensitive to threats and inclined to react strongly against coercion by nature

You can't really unpill yourself once you see things in these terms and I started seeing things in these terms when I was about 15

But unless you're dumb you quickly realize that there's no point in being the black T-shirt kid screaming "WAKE UP SHEEPLE" at the crowd

There are no sheeple to wake up.

Everyone is making the best rational decisions that they can and seeing the power games doesn't really leave you in a better position than anyone else (except maybe very slightly) unless you're able to wield power yourself.

People aren't actually stupid, mostly. What they are is constrained by coercive environments where their families and safety are threatened if they step outside of scripts.

This is how power is maintained. The carrot is a glittering chance to maybe have to work less hard.

But it's illusionary. Like many things, you're compelled memetically through both desire and fear to continue following scripts in order to avoid or obtain consequences that are neither as good or as bad as you think they are.

"Getting rich" isn't the panacea you think it is and getting "sort of rich" won't offer the level of security you'd hope it would

Similarly, "becoming destitute" unless you have a mental illness that prevents you from getting back up is far from the end of things

The trick is recognizing what's really important to you and how many of the things you think you want are driven by cultural memetics and advertising

The key to winning is to sidestep all of this

Ask yourself a question: In resource and cultural vacuum, how would you meet your needs... specifically? Like what actions do you need to take to ensure that you're happy and healthy? Then ask yourself if that reflects where you are now.

Then ask yourself how to bridge the gap. What things could you specifically do to move from A to B. Make sure you're at the root level desire. "Go to college" isn't a need. "Get married" or "Buy a house" aren't needs. Dig deeper. Get close to the bone.

You need to recognize what your REAL needs are and look at how your scripts are failing to give that level of security to you.

Look to your friends instead. Make friends. Build communities.

That's where power comes from.

You want to know why this Reddit thing is really such an upsetting and disturbing situation for people with shaky, scary undertones? Unlike every other protest in the last decade, this actually offered a chance to do some real establishment harm.

No one cares when you go stand in a park and hold up signs. Everyone with real power recognizes that if you get annoying enough you'll just get swept aside by the cops and the military. Pretty easy to ignore.

But organized collective action is making a dent on financials now.

This is the real power of making friends and forming communities. Yes, we value individualism in the West. Yes, we value freedom and autonomy. But bands of people are still the only thing that can wield real power. Not even Bezos or Musk can stand entirely on their own.

Power comes from finding like-minded people and agreeing to look out for each others interests. What do you think is going on behind the scenes right now with the financial market? It's literally this. It's pals and rivals coming together to agree not to take the outside hit.

Your only shot at real freedom and real wealth (and frankly real satisfaction which is upstream of feeling like you have either of these) is by building collaborative relationships with friends in a mutually supportive framework and ensuring everyone gets their needs met.

You literally can't do this on your own no matter how self-sufficient you are. You have to start small, start local, focus on protecting your people you love and the people who have your best interests in mind, protect your shared interests, and radiate that out.