Under tension, raw power—force plus capital—decides outcomes.
A dominant singular power provokes collectives to amass counter-force through sanctions, alliances, or equivalent leverage, forging a temporary balance. Over time, this equilibrium hardens into a moral “good”: stability becomes sacred, disruption heretical.
Yet this belief is a deception. When abstract virtue replaces concrete power, reality is ignored in favor of a comforting illusion.
Realists simply reassert force, trampling the dream. Moral outrage that power “shouldn’t” rule or "kindness" should triumph changes nothing—it once again mistakes moral noise for actual sway.