Is it not then that the only way to truly rule, to truly have power that can never be toppled by force, is to have a rule so beautiful when it is seen embodied, that the world copies it into eternity?
If such rules are the foundations of true power, is it not also the case that attempts to locally gain power within any network, even if done rather effectively, will ultimately reach a sort of insurmountable barrier? And are these barriers a "set of men" at the "top" or are they ideas? Did you not know from V for Vendetta that ideas are bulletproof -- ah, yes, the martyr, is this not simply sloppy thinking? Does the martyr perhaps take drastic action because he lacks confidence in himself, and seeks to forcefully have his meme thrust upon the world? But who will truly care for the ideas of a man so arrogant, so autocratic, who thought himself so important that he felt compelled to be so dramatic -- is he not decadent and pathetic in this mode of being? Will a man who is pathetic and decadent see his ideas live on into eternity, or does the deliberate act of martyrdom in its folly reveal the shallowness of the underlying thinker?
Can you see now what Dostoevsky might have meant when he said that to overcome the world, you must first overcome yourself?
We are all complex and flawed individuals who inherently know that our survival is largely dependent upon the group.
The martyr stands up for some belief that challenges the group think of the time and is prepared to die for it and will be hated and loved but rarely understood in their own time.
And the group will either assimilate the idea or reject it or something in between - that is the ultimate PoW.
But what else is there to do of value in this world and short life, than to seek and fight for what we perceive as value and test it against the beliefs of our peers?
The more we can engage in the contest of ideas in good faith the less need there might be for martyrs?
The Bitcoin protocol is an example of a revolutionary idea that was put forward by someone who knew that to expose their identity would be to risk their liberty.
The protocol is an algorithm that gives humanity the opportunity to exchange value without any centralised authority but peer to peer...where all are treated equally without fear or favour.
This is a genuine alternative model to consider and perhaps use and support - in a world increasingly controlled via centralised algorithms controlled by a a small number of people and corporations and governments.