Gravity is one of the fundamental forces that define our universe. It is the effect of matter that organizes moons, planets, and stars – keeping them from simply wandering off on their own. Gravity holds us to the Earth, and holds the elements of the Earth together—even defining our planet’s spherical shape. It is the physical manifestation of matter’s drive to aggrandize itself across the vastness of space.
Concentrated in stars, gravity is so strong, it literally warps space-time, creating a well, drawing distant objects nearer. It crushes hydrogen atoms, fusing nuclei together to form helium, generating and radiating massive energy to heat and light our world – making life possible.
But where the aggregated mass is too great, space-time is not just warped, it is consumed. Gravity becomes an end in itself, swallowing up everything nearby, even light – which is why such phenomena are known as black holes. Within this region, the distortion is so complete that the normal laws of physics no longer apply. The distortion reaches far beyond its black horizon; nothing within a vast area is unaffected; ultimately everything is drawn in and destroyed.
In human experience, the desire for material goods and control are likewise fundamental drives. In normal proportions, these drives encourage us to independently feed and shelter ourselves and our families, provide security, sustain communities, educate ourselves, learn productive trades, seek self-actualization, and build a legacy to assure a better life for our children. It drives incredible innovation and creativity.
But when wealth and power become comingled and overly concentrated, they too become ends in themselves; reshaping reality, and isolating those within from the outside. This concentration distorts everything nearby. The rules of normal civil society no longer apply. Information filtering in from the world outside is warped to fit the reality within. Evidence, established science, and any sense of community, are mangled in transit; replaced by an elite plutocratic alternate reality. Concerns of the world—if they are perceived at all—are faint and unclear, filtered and distorted through the thick, blurred window of entitlement.
Advanced societies have institutions to counter this concentration of wealth and power, serving to slow or prevent societal collapse. Progressive taxation of income and wealth, a fundamental culture of community, self-sufficient educational institutions, and an alert, assertive mass media all serve as bulwarks to sustain balance, maintain awareness, and act as an enduring reference against the alternate reality within.
But, in their relentless drive for greater wealth and power, those at the center of this concentration seek to draw in, and co-opt these protective institutions; absorbing and distorting them, nullifying their restraining effect, and accelerating the drive toward singularity and socioeconomic annihilation. Without these moderating influences and references, the population is helpless to resist the trend, or at times, even be aware it is occurring. Perhaps the most pernicious distortion is the assertion that democratic institutions, and market competition can continue to thrive within the black hole of its influence.
