The More You Have, The More You Have To Help.

---

source

---

I've mentioned in a few previous posts why I find steemit so interesting.

I see this platform as a microcosm of the real world, with all of the positives and all of the negatives that implies. This is something that has grown more evident to me throughout my time here. The one major difference I see between the two, though, and the reason that the potential I see encourages me, is that we have a much greater say in what happens in our little community than we do in the wider one.

Personally, I see steemit as a social experiment, whether intentionally designed to be so or not, and I also see it as a test. A test of what is possible.

As members of this community and decentralised society, we all have the opportunity of influencing the outcome of this experiment to a greater degree than we do in the much more wide ranging social experiment that is the real world.

Right now, just like the real world, the steemit community is a little bit fractured and broken. One of the biggest problems I see is the replication of the 'greed is good' mentality that’s so prevalent, accepted and even promoted in the centralised, real world system. We're really not much of a community at all if we're all out for ourselves and for many, including myself, that’s how it feels right now, when at one time, it actually felt like we were for the most part pulling in the same direction with somewhat of a shared vision of change.

We live in a society that celebrates this greed is good mentality and by extension, we allow it to set a subconscious example for us all. By virtue of the way our societies have been organised, we all fall victim to this mentality to some lesser or greater degree but for most of us, it is simply a subconscious defence mechanism that is required for survival in the real world of today. For a big enough percentage of the population to be a problem though, it’s a mentality that informs and drives our world view. Time is money, money talks, etc, etc.

So far, in this experiment, we seem to be following a similar path to the one many of us felt we might be turning away from. We're progressing down conventional lines, repeating real world, destructive behaviours, reaching all of the same outcomes and conclusions, albeit with a decentralised slant.

A big part of the problem we have within our steemit community is in regards to our ‘stake’ and the differing ideas and opinions we all have in relation to how it should be used. A large number of us feel that we should be and are free to use it in any way we choose since, it is our stake after all and no-one’s going to tell us how to use it.

My own view on this ‘stake’ argument and defence is that those who make the case are absolutely right. I also think we should be free to use our stake in whatever way we see fit and wouldn’t try to force anyone to do otherwise. However, I would encourage everyone to fully consider the choices and decisions they make in this regard, which I do now, freely, using my own stake, in the time I’m investing in writing this post and the thoughts I’m sharing with all of you.

There are many different stakes at play within our little community, as well as in the wider world, not just financial ones. Some of us bring our creativity to the table, some bring our imagination. Some of us bring wisdom and knowledge. Some bring personality and fun. These are just a few of the myriad different skills, talents and other tools we have at our disposal that are required to build up and sustain a healthy society. Money is just another of these tools. No more, no less in my opinion but we treat it as if it’s the driving force behind every aspect of our lives. We put money and those who have it on a pedestal when we really shouldn’t.

A man with a million pounds (or steem) but no vision is just a man with a million pounds, as the man with a vision is just a man with a vision if he has no means of making it a reality on his own. If the two co-operate, then both will benefit. If there is no trust, no communication, no co-operation, neither will fulfil the potential they have. Extrapolate this out to seven or eight billion men and women and this is the world we find ourselves living in today.

Our stake in steemit is something I feel we should all consider very carefully. As I said, I agree that we all have the right to ‘use’ it as we see fit but where I diverge from those who would normally take this position is that I feel we should be using our stake in ways that give back to ‘our’ community rather than extracting as much as we can from ‘our’ community. We shouldn’t be greedy. It’s not good for us and it’s not good for the community.

In terms of stake (SP) on steemit, this is how I see it.

Say I have 100 SP and you have 1000 SP. If we both curate content identically in relation to our own stake for a set period of time then at the end of that time your curation rewards will be ten times the amount mine will be. That is the incentive and reward you receive for having ten times the stake invested in the platform as me. I can’t really argue with this. I think this is fair enough. You have ten times as much invested as me, ten times as much to potentially gain but also ten times as much as me to potentially lose.

Where greed comes into play is when you are not satisfied with receiving ten times more than me and would rather forego the commitment you made to your investment in exchange for selling your ability to positively influence the platform for the long term in exchange for short sighted, short term financial positive for you that could result in financial negatives for many others. The rewards for each of us are proportionate, some might even say fair. Greed is wanting more than your fair share. Greed is when you have more than most and still want more. When no amount of wealth or illusory power this can bring, will satisfy.

Unfortunately, I see an ever increasing display of these attributes and this mindset that I would describe as negative, in a few of the members within our community. A few for whom no amount of reward, earned or not, will suffice, a few who care more for themselves than for the community and what it could become or achieve. A few who are just out for themselves, looking after number one and fuck the rest of us. A few whose example is being followed by an ever increasing many. It’s no measure of health to be well adjusted to a fucked up society. From my perspective, there are far too many well adjusted men and women in both our little online community and society at large.

In both of these worlds, there are many possible routes to a brighter and more balanced future. One of the easiest of these that I see, is not in a physical revolution of the ‘awakened’ masses, but in a mental revolution by way of the realisation that life can be so much more rewarding when we work together and have a shared vision.

Those with the power to do so, whatever that power may be or consist of, are the ones most likely to bring about positive, co-operative change by peaceful means. If this realisation and movement towards a better world is from the top down, by those with the most to offer, then the transition could be relatively easy. If, however, those at the top of our society refuse to acknowledge that change is needed or do not make that change themselves, then the transition will be a lot less tolerable, with any positive gains likely coming at a heavy cost to us all.

I've also mentioned in several posts that I believe we as a community are fortunate enough to have access to some of the most critical and forward thinking men and women of our time and I feel with that being the case, we must surely possess the combined capacity to move beyond the current, destructive and restrictive thought processes that have for too long led us down lonely roads of division as opposed to a shared path of common unity.

Steemit, in my eyes at least, is most certainly a test. It’s a test of whether or not we can make a decentralised world a possibility. How we interact with one another and what we make of the opportunity we all have could and perhaps will determine whether this system is successful and ultimately scale-able for the real world.

Right now I feel like we’re failing that test.

We’re failing because we’ve not yet been able to shift our mindset from the ones we had in the centralised system we’re trying to get away from. I’ve mentioned before that for the most part I believe all systems are inherently neutral and only by our actions can they become positive or negative. We don’t really need a change of system that dethrones one ruling class and replaces them with another. What we need is a complete shift in consciousness and a new way of doing things. A new way of structuring our societies to ensure any who do reach the top do so because of their genuine malevolent actions in service to all of us and the world we share.

We’re stuck in the profit and power paradigm that has been for too long conditioned into us, leading us to accept and celebrate those who would convince us this is the only way.

The social programming of this mentality has manifested an adversarial society who are unable to unite because of how deep, how many and how relatively unseen the divisions are within it. These divisions are often not accidental and are more often than not tools of societal control.

Whether an unintended side effect of recent changes within the dynamic on the platform or not, I see these same divisions coming into play within our community, albeit it on a smaller scale but also much more obvious to those who might be paying attention.

We're looking to a new future that right now is a photocopy of the present. The same old self serving, self protecting attitude that rules the world right now and has done as long as any of us care to remember. A move towards a brighter future begins with a move away from these negative thought processes that manifest negative outcomes.

If we really want to live in a better world, we need to shift our perspective. We need to stop seeing what we have as a means of helping ourselves and instead recognise that the more we have, whether that be in terms of finance, intellect, creativity or whatever area of life in which we excel or have plenty, the more ability and opportunity we have to help others. Which I also think, means we have more responsibility to do so as well.

When I look around at the real world, as with the steemit world, I see for the most part those of us with the greatest amount of power and influence using it to enrich our own lives at the expense of those who already have the least. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer without even realising it. I also recognise that most of the good deeds and positive initiatives in both of these worlds of which we’re all a part, are started by those who have very little themselves, rather than those who have the most ability and means to do so.

We all know the real world is a fucked up place and these days many of us also know to some degree why. If you don’t, it's because those among us who have the power to make important decisions that affect us all, more often than not, do so in their own self interest. It’s no real secret that a handful of men, institutions, corporations, secret societies and/or families run the world we all live and breathe in. At the moment I feel there is nothing wrong with the numbers in this scenario, only the direction in which these men are leading us and the examples they are setting. In my opinion, a handful of men running the world doesn’t necessarily need to be a problem, if the right men are leading, in the right direction and by the right example, guiding us to a future of prosperity that enriches all areas of all of our lives.

So it is with steemit right now, I feel. Those among us who have the most amount of influence over what this platform becomes, what it stands for and in which direction it progresses, those who have the greatest ability to make positive change, for the most part and at the moment, are the wrong people. Or, the right people with the wrong perspective. If we could somehow shift the perspective of those at the top of the steemit hierarchy and convince them that they are the key to the future of not just our little online, decentralised community but perhaps the future of everyone alive today and those of us yet to come. If we could show them that they have the ability to inspire positive change in those who would follow their example then maybe they would be more conscious of the example they are setting.

The more you have, the more you have to lose. This is true.

It’s also true that the more you have, the more you have to help.

What you do with what you have is completely up to you.

This is just what I think.


What do you think?