The steemit user @jesse2you asked me an important question. In my recent post I indicated that though it is popular to refer to the one percent as the problem the number of people that are the problem are actually much smaller than that. In the reply I was asked how I would deal with the less than one percent. I replied that I'd need to let it start with that seed of a question and grow into something. That is happening. I am not going to answer that question in this post. I am going to lay a stone in the path towards answering that question.

I don't like the one percent as that implies the problem is with 1 out of every 100 people. The signs I have looked at would seem to indicate that is not likely true. So then is it one out of every 1,000 people? I think that is still not small enough. I am going to shoot for the 0.01% or 1 out of every 10,000 people though I think that may still not be small enough.

In order, to come up with ideas on how to deal with them I believe it is important to define them. That is the purpose of this post. I am going to stream of consciousness brainstorm on what these 0.01% are. I'll use the term "Less than One Percenters" in some places as that was what @jesse2you used and I think it fits.

In general let's consider what I believe most people think when they consider the one percenters. I am going to list several traits. Not everyone thinks all of these. Yet I'm brainstorming.

• Greedy people that don't care about other people
• Wealth consolidation points when the world is struggling
• Rule Makers and Rule Breakers
• Oppressors

Those things describe some of the people I think of and to some degree they are fitting. Yet, I consider all of those very simplistic. Those are almost throw away thoughts that any of us can have and get angry about and not spend much more time thinking about it. For important things we should spend the time thinking. This is especially true if we plan to take action, or support people who are taking action. We must strive to understand what we are taking action against.

For me these people have been around for a long time and they transcend the concept of wealth. So much of the focus on the concept of one percenters focuses on wealth. Wealth is indeed an aspect of those I'd call the "power brokers", or perhaps "Shadow Brokers" as they accumulate that and it is a tool. Keep that in mind. Money is a tool. It is the best tool humanity has come up with to deal with universal exchange. Instead of you having to know what it takes to produce a sheep, or an iPhone, and all the other details you can set a value in this currency/money tool. If people agree with the exchange rate they will make the exchange. It has other benefits that it can almost instantaneously deal with changes in the market, and it does not require vast super computer like powers to track the status of every little component, supply, demand, and service offering. That is handled without the need for such by currency itself. This is wonderful.

However, it is a tool. Like any tool it can be used for benevolent or malevolent purposes. It can also accumulate and it can translate to a form of power. Yet it is important to know that even without its existence that power expresses itself in other ways.

Power ultimately comes from being able to force actions from other people, or be compelling enough that people will take action based upon your desires. Power can come in the form of charisma, and presence. Power can come in the form of celebrity. Power can come in the form of perceived intelligence and expertise on a subject.

Power as I am defining it has another name. Influence.

Money can express as a form of influence. Yet, influence exists with or without money.

This is also why I don't immediately flock to anti-capitalist movements, and embrace things like communism. Some aspects of communism keep currency, others remove it. Those that remove it have the challenge of trying to do what currency can do without it, and so far we don't have the ability to do that as none of us are omniscient gods. It also does not remove other forms of influence/power.

So regardless of the ideology there are those that understand power/influence. They likely come from families that have been around exercising such knowledge for many generations. This does not mean that people cannot join these ranks. There seems to indeed be a way to join such ranks. Joining those ranks doesn't always seem to be tied to wealth, though that does seem to be the most common.

So when I speak of the Less than One Percenters I am referring to those who not only manipulate the governments around the world, as well as the public via propaganda, but those that believe that it is their heritage and right to FORCE the rest of humanity to act as they want.

I would contend that most of our population is faced with that mental affliction. The affliction of believing that other people should be forced to act the way that the person thinks they should. "That is so wrong, they shouldn't be allowed to do that!", "There should be a law to make X illegal!"

The less than one percenters eat such statements from the population like candy. They love it. "Yes, give me more power! I'll gladly force other people to do things!"

So the less than one percenters that are a problem have wealth and/or influence as well as a belief they have a right to force the rest of people to act how they want.

So to answer @jesse2you's question I am going to have to think about how to deal with those people, and it is important enough I want to think about it for awhile.

Whatever I write will be my own OPINION. That doesn't mean I won't change my mind in the future. My mind is constantly changing with new input. I also am likely wrong about a great deal of things.