The purpose of this article is to explore the making of choices, a subject that is not nearly as simple or commonplace as it may seem.
Choice and Power, You, My Liberty Quotient and the Corpocracy's Power Elite
Choice and Power. To state the obvious, more powerful people can make and have implemented monumental choices whenever they choose to do so. In stark contrast, how many different choices can a homeless person make?
You. Now, think of yourself. You chose to read this article. How many choices did you make, say, yesterday? Probably a lot without even you're recognizing you were choosing among alternatives.
My Liberty Quotient. Reading the Declaration of Independence somehow gave me the idea to create the concept of the "liberty quotient." Here is what it looks like:
Liberty quotient = # choices freely made/# desired choices prevented
The bigger the numerator is than the denominator obviously denotes the person's liberty quotient is higher, signifying greater freedom to make and fulfill desired choices than a person with a lower quotient.
U.S. Corpocracy and Its Power Elite. Not a democracy, the U.S. corpocracy is simply the collusion between two sets of power elite; the superior set of titans in selected industries such as the war and related industries who tell the subordinate government power elite what to buy, what to do and what to say. The titans' liberty quotients are obviously sky high. In a true democracy the liberty quotients among the populace would be more evenly distributed, certainly not skewed toward a small portion of the total population. And minus the overwhelming power of the elite, there would be no poverty and peace, not war, two fantastic choices realized.
Good Choices and Hubris
Most of us who have the means to do so probably make hundreds of choices every day. We may not be aware of habitual choices, like whether to get dressed right away after getting out of bed. But there may be some deliberate choices where the outcomes are good, and we feel very good about them. For example, when I pick the right golf club and hit the ball onto the distant green close to the pin, I am elated, even ecstatic! It is a natural feeling some call "hubris," defined by Merriam-Webster as "exaggerated pride or self-confidence." Now, I don't like including "exaggerated pride" in the definition. Why not instead, for instance, "quiet pride" or "modest pride." Or why not call hubris a "virtue." We can go all the way back to the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, who claimed that "Pride, then, seems to be a sort of crown of the virtues; for it makes them greater, and it is not found without them." [1] That suits me just fine.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
