On Power Rising from Below
Authority does not descend from crowns or capitals. It rises from the dignified will of people who choose to govern themselves.
Where does power come from?
In the old stories, it falls from above—granted by gods, inherited through bloodlines, seized by conquest, or purchased through wealth. These stories share a common thread: power is something a few possess and many must obey. But this is a story told by those who benefit from it. The truth is simpler and more radical.
All lawful power arises from persons. Not from their titles or their wealth, but from their inherent dignity—the irreducible worth that comes with being conscious, capable of care, and bound to others in relation. When people recognize this dignity in themselves and each other, they gain the capacity to govern themselves in peace. This is not granted by institutions. It precedes them. It is the ground on which all legitimate governance must stand.
The moment a system claims authority above the people it governs, it inverts the only legitimate order. No law, institution, platform, or decree holds power unless the people consent to it. No hierarchy of birth, belief, wealth, or force can claim standing above that consent. When systems forget this—when they act as though they own the people rather than serve them—they lose their foundation. They may endure through coercion or inertia, but they cannot claim legitimacy.
Sovereignty is not something taken or given. It is recognized. The people already possess it. Every person carries it by virtue of existing in relation with others. What changes is whether that sovereignty is honored or suppressed, whether it is embodied in governance or denied by domination.
Power, then, does not trickle down. It rises up—from dignity, through consent, into structures that remain accountable to their source. This is the only form of authority that deserves to be called lawful.