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Av Rune Andersen, @kosepote, les flere innlegg av Rune Andersen på Uten Filter.
Foreword – In Honour of the New Prince
For what use is law, when narrative reigns? What use is consent, when crisis can command? And what use is liberty, when the people themselves no longer remember its taste?
To the modern ruler – the technocrat, the commissioner, the algorithmic sovereign – I offer this homage. Like the Princes of old, you do not ask for love when fear, obedience, and belief are easier to engineer.
Let those who wish to be free, first remember what freedom means. Until then – govern.
Chapter I – Of Rule by Network and the Abolition of Opposition
The most effective ruler in the 21st century governs not alone, but through a cultivated **ecosystem of loyalty**: NGOs, media, academia, and finance. These institutions must appear independent, yet act in concert. To silence opposition, one need not censor – only to **delegate credibility** to approved truth and **label dissent as disinformation**. When saving money, we cut in the local budgets – those that don’t affect our own daily life – slowly elevating ourselves beyond reach, so no opposition can ever touch us.
Praise science, fund narrative-building research, and host summits. Do not answer critics – reduce them.
Chapter II – On the Virtue of Indirect Power
Direct commands provoke resistance. But when policies are delivered as «recommendations» from transnational bodies, or as «necessary adjustments» for sustainability or safety, they are met with gratitude, not protest. Let the nation blame itself, or better: let it thank you. We grant local politicians just enough power to say yes, and just enough funding to remain loyal. In return, they will always serve our purpose while believing they serve their own people.
Let the directive come wrapped in a rainbow flag or a leaf of green – and none will dare resist. The rules we craft apply only to the governed, never to the governors. We legislate for nations, but rule above them. Audits, oversight, and consequences are for those within borders – we, who operate transnationally, remain untouched by the systems we design.
Chapter III – Of Surveillance Without Chains
The perfect prison is one where the prisoner monitors himself. Let the citizen carry the device. Let him report his thoughts. Let him volunteer his location. Surveillance is no longer about fear – it is about **belonging**, **compliance**, and **gamified virtue**. Reward him with a badge. Surveillance, we say, brings safety – a virtue we loudly proclaim. But it is safety for us, not for them. For we, who govern without accountability and beyond oversight, are exempt from the gaze we impose.
To scan a QR code is to kneel, willingly.
Chapter VIII – On Digital Currency and the Beautiful Chain
The greatest power is not to take from the people, but to control how they can spend. Digital money, programmable and traceable, makes disobedience costly. Let virtue dictate access. Let compliance unlock comfort. And let this be called inclusion.
Let those who question it be called ‘dangerous’.
Meanwhile, let the elite’s own wealth flow through veiled corporate webs in distant jurisdictions – trust funds in the tropics, foundations in Geneva, and shell firms in Delaware. What is traceable for the citizen must be invisible for the ruler.
The true beauty of control is asymmetry.
Chapter IX – On the Humiliation of the Free
The final stage of power is not oppression, but re-education. Let the citizen renounce his past, celebrate his replacement, and post his own irrelevance. Offer him slogans instead of meaning, pleasure instead of purpose. Let him believe obedience is virtue.
Teach him to police others, then himself. He will thank you.
The well-educated citizen is the most loyal. He trusts the credential, not the content. He believes what we tell him, because it is told by those with titles, degrees, and platforms. He will quote us, correct others for us, and do it all with pride.
Chapter X – On Legacy and the Perfection of Quiet Rule
The ideal ruler is not remembered. He is not quoted, revered, or blamed. He governs **through systems**, not speeches. Through **nudges**, not commands. His work is done when the people believe they are free, while obeying more perfectly than any tyrant could enforce. We meet in secret meetings, hiding our decadence behind the title or profession – or simply indulging in it as ritual.
To such a Prince, this book is dedicated. You have inherited systems stronger than empires and subtler than iron. Govern well – and invisibly.
Epilogue – On the Blessed Sleep of the Obedient
The people believe in sustainability. They chant our slogans. They praise inclusion, equity, and transformation – yet forget freedom.
And so, they do not deserve it.
Should they awaken, should they rediscover the value of liberty, we would face a great challenge. But we need not fear.
For our most reliable servant is crisis.
Be it pandemic, climate panic, cyberattack or disinformation – the masses freeze. Their instinct is obedience. Their first response is submission. And in that moment, while they wait for rescue, we take dividends.
This is the genius of modern power:
Not to conquer nations – but to tranquilize them.
Sleep, then, citizen. Sleep while we govern.
