Almost all human beings desire power and wealth in their lives. Because with wealth comes the feeling of freedom, and one can thus satisfy his quest for pleasures and distractions. The desire for power seems to be instinctive by nature and manifests itself in multiple ways on a daily basis. We find this desire in the specialist, the politician, the priest, the husband or quite simply the student towards his comrade. The desire for domination or submission is one of the conditions of the human species, which is probably inherited from the animal kingdom. It is this violence and this aggressiveness that will pervert relationships throughout one's life. And humanity has naturally accepted this conflicted way of life, with all the misery it engenders.
It is a notion of measurement that is basically at work: wanting to measure oneself. We are in the binary duality of the big and the small, of the more and the less, of the beautiful and the ugly.. in the opposition. We tend to compare ourselves to each other, compare one painting to another, etc. This constant measure of power, status, wealth, intelligence, beauty begins at birth and continues throughout life. This is encouraged in school, college and university. The whole educational system is based on a comparative value of knowledge. By comparing one individual to another who happens to be brighter, smarter, and more charismatic and confident. It is this comparison that is psychologically destructive.
This destruction takes the form of competition, imitation and conformity to which we submit, based on comparison, on the standard of the other. This breeds, consciously or not, antagonism, jealousy, fear and anxiety. It is the condition in which an individual lives for the rest of his existence, always in measure, comparing himself psychologically and physically.
Comparison is one of the many aspects of violence. Saying “more” or “better” are ways of comparing. But is it possible to live without this need to compare ourselves and to want to be what we are not? Is it possible not to measure or judge in a logic of comparative evaluation? When we compare ourselves to another we become dull and small. We then live in contradiction and conformity.
Judgment is based on standards of measurement and evaluation, and those who do not align with these arbitrary notions are deficient. You are considered weak not by what you are, but in comparison with criteria that are considered to be societal values. One is ambition. So, not being ambitious is seen as a weakness. Not dominating the other by violence is considered a weakness. If you don't have the Rolex at 40 you've wasted your life, remember...
But love is neither comparison nor measure.
We are in a deeply dehumanized system, which is based on performance, competition and meritocracy. No consideration for the singularity of beings. Avanti. Marching towards a start-up nation of robots without any considerations. We must reject this ideological way of thinking which only engenders violence and suffering for the vast majority.
Comparison and measurement are intellectual processes that divide and fragment. The ultimate tests of measurement are examinations accompanied by fear and anxiety which deeply affect the life of the individual, leading to all kinds of trauma and harmful judgments. It is there that he loses all his innocence, in the deep wound and the degraded image of himself that he will carry like a burden on the way of the cross.
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