Lesson : Power is not consent based. Donald trump & the peace prize

[LordFall]

This situation is a great lesson in power and status. The Nobel Committee can choose to not recognize trump as the shared or full recipient if Maria Machado decides to give it to Trump this week but if she does and he takes it their opinion is irrelevant. It will diminish their credibility and increase his. 

That's how power works. It's about what happens and who can have effect on reality. Not our opinions about it. 

48 laws of power should be on the book list, it's a simple and fun book to read that explain so much about how the world works. 

To be a positive actor for change(or a negative one) you must be extremely well versed at how power works or how to use it or you'll just be commenting on people changing the world. 

Like him or not, Trump is a masterclass on power and status. Anybody that doesn't respect his political skill is a fool. Anybody calling him stupid is a fool. Your opinion doesn't really matter, only results in life. The fact that he's a narcissistic sociopath doesn't change his success. It's surely a concerning situation but also a brilliant representation of the current stage of development of our species. 

Edited Sunday at 07:51 PM by LordFall

[Jodistrict]

Shahid Bolsen talks a lot about real power.  He claims that protests are a waste of time because those with power don’t care about your opinion.   The immature progressives lost their power because they didn’t understand it and pushed pointless wedge issues that made them unpopular.   Trump will also lose power in the last minutes of his life.  He will finally understand that it was all for nothing.  He came into the world naked and he will go out naked.  He is not as smart as you think.   

[LordFall]

Intelligence is not the same thing as wisdom and consciousness. Plenty of people that are a liability to themselves and others are incredibly smart but think in ineffective ways or drown in their own corrupt and sick minds. 

I don't think protests are fully a waste of time, they apply political pressure. You need leverage more than pressure though.

For example, the current protestors in Iran need a planned transition government, support from neighbouring states and support from the local military to hope to overthrow the current regime. Protest by itself will get them shot in the streets until they've suffered enough to go home sadly. 

[BlueOak]

I'd just remove America from the countries that can ever receive it and blacklist them.

Then we'll see where the power of the award lies. If that becomes impossible, it's time for a new award structure.

Edited Monday at 10:56 AM by BlueOak

[Basman]

Authoritarian regimes clearly care about what people think and say aloud about their regime. Or they wouldn't bother with suppressing speech, killing protesters and dissidents, etc. 

[Sandroew]

The Trump era is a lesson on what happens if your education system fails and your checks on corruption fails.

 

It got so bad he can blatantly get away with breaking the rule of law, but he is exploiting the system that was built on principles by people a lot more intelligent than him. He is successful because he doesnt follow the rules and principles, but that only makes him a success as a leech.

 

A civilization with integrity that is conscious of its goal is way more effective and productive than a civilization that follows the principle of Might is Right. The former is way more intelligent than the latter. The latter is literally a backstep in development.

 

Do you think the internet would exist if Trump was the norm ? The internet exist because the system we created enabled cooperation to a level that we were able to build a global system that benefited everyone. Trump is only degrading the social structure.

 

He is only powerful because he is the equivalent of a human leech. Calling that a success is a misunderstanding of where we were headed in the last 2000 years of civilization.

[LordFall]

Yes indeed. In the gaming world it's called a bug exploit. When you discover a vulnerability in software you exploit it to publicize it so it's fixed faster. Trumps abuse of the political system will lead to more robust international law and domestic law. It's an important phenomenon to study in depth. 

[Joshe]

On 1/11/2026 at 2:50 PM, LordFall said:

Like him or not, Trump is a masterclass on power and status. Anybody that doesn't respect his political skill is a fool. Anybody calling him stupid is a fool. Your opinion doesn't really matter, only results in life. The fact that he's a narcissistic sociopath doesn't change his success. It's surely a concerning situation but also a brilliant representation of the current stage of development of our species. 

Trump is stupid. 

Trump is a trust fund baby who was born into so much money that the interest on it alone would pay for dozens of servants. 

Trump was lucky to win in 2016. He didn’t “architect” and execute a great victory. He was up against an opponent who most people were repulsed by. That’s why he won. 

After he won, a hundred million people felt cognitive dissonance for having voted for him after seeing who he was, so the right wing media apparatus and Russian troll farms went in full effect to relieve that dissonance and brainwash people. It worked better than anyone could have imagined. 

That brainwashing was the mechanism that allowed Trump to be himself in public - a bully - threatening people’s careers via tweet, inciting violence, etc. 

Further, he became the leader of the Republicans and ruled them with fear and threats. Like the cowards they are, they bowed down and transferred their power up to him. The sum of all that power was enormous. 

if you think all of this happened because Trump just knows how to finagle people politically, you’re the fool. He didn’t get this peace prize donated to him because he’s a political genius. It’s simple power dynamics, and any third rate dictator could achieve it if they had the position of POTUS, which Trump lucked into. 

Trump is simply the luckiest devil ever, that’s all this is. 

Narcissistic sociopaths simply don’t have the same moral constraints normal people do. You’re seeing the lack of those constraints as some kind of intelligence - something to behold and admire. Buts it’s actually just de-evolution. 

Edited Wednesday at 02:56 PM by Joshe

[LordFall]

@Joshe I don't know why it makes you feel better to fantasy someone gaining control of a whole country to be stupid. It seems like lazy epistemology to me and actually it loops back to victim thinking.

My whole point with this post is for us to understand how the system is skewed and learn the lessons and strategies of power to be able to influence it the right way. To summarize it as dumb stupid corrupt people take control of the system what can we do is weak thinking. 

[Joshe]

3 hours ago, LordFall said:

@Joshe I don't know why it makes you feel better to fantasy someone gaining control of a whole country to be stupid. It seems like lazy epistemology to me and actually it loops back to victim thinking.

My whole point with this post is for us to understand how the system is skewed and learn the lessons and strategies of power to be able to influence it the right way. To summarize it as dumb stupid corrupt people take control of the system what can we do is weak thinking. 

My goal was not to bash Trump to make me feel good. It was to get you to demystify what you think Trump's "power" is. You're treating outcomes as proof of competence when the structural elements did far more to put Trump in power than anything else.

Trump is simply not a strategic mastermind in any sense or any domain, and it's an error to think that he is. There is far, far more to it than "Trump is a political mastermind".

I pointed out several of the elements, but there are dozens more. Put them all together and you'll see that Trump is just a rich, lucky dimwit. 

Also, when I used the word "stupid", I meant it literally. If "stupid" means anything in English, like: 

• shallow reasoning
• poor abstraction
• impulsivity
• inability to model second-order consequences
• reliance on instinct
• domination rather than understanding

Then Trump is literally "stupid". 

It's easy to think Trump is stupid and politically brilliant, but it's not true. 

In general, stupid and "brilliance" doesn't typically mix, right?

Can you provide any evidence that suggests it's mixing in this case, aside from "he made it to the top - it must be true"? 

Because the only skills I can identify are of a predatory nature, but predatory skill doesn't equal political genius. Those predatory skills didn't gain leverage through intelligence, but more so via institutional blind spots, the media landscape, incentives of the rich and powerful, and dozens more things like that. 

[LordFall]

If you use merriam-webster it defines intelligence as: the ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situations.

Google defines it as : 1.the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.

2 hours ago, Joshe said:

My goal was not to bash Trump to make me feel good. It was to get you to demystify what you think Trump's "power" is. You're treating outcomes as proof of competence when the structural elements did far more to put Trump in power than anything else.

Trump is simply not a strategic mastermind in any sense or any domain, and it's an error to think that he is. There is far, far more to it than "Trump is a political mastermind".

I pointed out several of the elements, but there are dozens more. Put them all together and you'll see that Trump is just a rich, lucky dimwit. 

It's just a wild thing to believe that reaching the top of 3 industries is lucky or he was somehow born into it? He became a real estate mogul, a media star and then got into politics. All three being complex industries full of competition and other talented people that won't give you their money easily.

What exactly do you think defines intelligence if not for the ability to grasp systems and maneuver them to your advantage? Philosophy? 

It seems like you're coming at it from a socialism perspective which is often tied to delusion since oftentimes people believe themselves to be competent but cannot produce results outside of their imagination.  

 

[Joshe]

 

1 hour ago, LordFall said:

It's just a wild thing to believe that reaching the top of 3 industries is lucky or he was somehow born into it? He became a real estate mogul, a media star and then got into politics. All three being complex industries full of competition and other talented people that won't give you their money easily.

When you have a shit load of capital, brand awareness, connections with rich people, influence and attention in one domain, all that easily transfers over to almost any other domain without having ANY skill in the new domain.

Just look at Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. They're making millions right now in various domains. Do you think these two idiots are also geniuses in business, crypto, and filmmaking? OR does it have something to do with the leverage they got from the family money and connections?

If intelligence/skill is the primary factor in success, how do you explain the vast number of millionaire imbeciles like Marjorie Taylor Greene? Absolute dimwit - makes millions every year. I guess she's just got that magic. 

2 hours ago, LordFall said:

What exactly do you think defines intelligence if not for the ability to grasp systems and maneuver them to your advantage? Philosophy? 

To grasp complex systems does point to intelligence, but Trump, MTG, and the like are not grasping systems. They're riding unearned leverage.

Sure, they did something, but don't act like it's some astonishing feat when someone born into massive leverage has success in multiple domains.

And historically, Trump's business record is littered with multiple bankruptcies, lying to banks about asset values, stiffing contractors, etc. He stayed afloat mostly because he had assets and access to credit, not because he was modeling systems like a genius.

I'll give him credit for The Apprentice. He did relentlessly push his brand until it finally landed with some TV exec who now feels guilty about defrauding the public with the idea that he was a successful businessman. That show played a huge role in manufacturing the image of a great businessman, which did wonders for Trump in 2016. So yes, he did do something. But narcissistic persistence and attention capture isn't intelligence.

2 hours ago, LordFall said:

It seems like you're coming at it from a socialism perspective which is often tied to delusion since oftentimes people believe themselves to be competent but cannot produce results outside of their imagination.  

😂

[LordFall]

Haha, it just happened he got given it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1qdwsrx/trump_given_nobel_peace_medal_by_venezuelan/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/machado-trump-nobel-peace-prize-9.7047391

[Breathe]

On 1/15/2026 at 6:07 AM, Joshe said:

But narcissistic persistence and attention capture isn't intelligence.

Exactly

[BlueOak]

7 hours ago, LordFall said:

Haha, it just happened he got given it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1qdwsrx/trump_given_nobel_peace_medal_by_venezuelan/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/machado-trump-nobel-peace-prize-9.7047391

Yeah cheap knock off. He's got a second hand award.

I could probably buy one if I had enough money.

[LordFall]

9 hours ago, BlueOak said:

Yeah cheap knock off. He's got a second hand award.

I could probably buy one if I had enough money.

You fundamentally misunderstand how status and power works. You think the engraved piece of metal is what's worth something or the fact that he can ask for the award and the recipient flew from another country to deliver to him against the wishes of the nobel comittee? 

Power is about making stuff happen in reality. 

 

[Breathe]

10 hours ago, BlueOak said:

I could probably buy one if I had enough money.

I might get you one. Maybe do a little ceremony

[BlueOak]

2 hours ago, LordFall said:

You fundamentally misunderstand how status and power works. You think the engraved piece of metal is what's worth something or the fact that he can ask for the award and the recipient flew from another country to deliver to him against the wishes of the nobel comittee? 

Power is about making stuff happen in reality. 

 

That's how you interpret power. For me it's a sad man begging someone to give him their own trophy because he can't get it himself.

To me it makes him look weak. It may look like strength to you, but it sure doesn't to me. 

Its like a kid who didn't win the race, going over to another kids house and telling him to give him the award.

[BlueOak]

1 hour ago, Breathe said:

I might get you one. Maybe do a little ceremony

 Why just one? Wouldn't two make us extra powerful? I could be the super ultra peace maker.

[Breathe]

@BlueOakI'm on board with that