Power advantages compound without external restraint

Evidence

Furthermore, since in all power relations an advantage once gained facilitates the gaining of additional advantages (the “accumulation of capital” is merely a specific instance of this general proposition), power inequality is bound to expand in quick progression, and the freedom of the privileged always and necessarily develops at the expense of the freedom of the op- — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 2553

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• DEFINE: Generalizes capital accumulation into a broader principle of self-reinforcing power.

Related

• Power grows only as the freedom of the subjected party also grows. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Power inequalities block trust because the strong lack encapsulated interest #complicates (0.72) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 481