In Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse writes of two types of games that we all play. Finite games have rules set from the outside and accepted by voluntary participants. Such games have a known beginning, and a known end. A football match, a war, job hunt, etc. Purpose of finite games is to bring each and every one of them to an end. Enrolling into a university should in the end result in a credential.
Infinite games have rules that one imposes on themselves. They have no end in sight and the purpose of playing them is their continuation to — well, infinity.
Within both of these games, there are two important features.
Power matters only in finite games, and is used to bring the past to an end, and resolve the finite game. Power restricts the freedom individuals have within the limits of the game. Power is what finite players play for.
Strength matters in infinite games. Although trivially equated, it opposes power. What infinite games others play is of little interest to infinite players, and they even seek to initiate actions of others. Strength relates to the freedom individuals have within the limits of a game. Everyone possesses strength, which sets boundaries of what other players can do while playing finite games with infinite players. Strength is not, and cannot be used to make one do another’s bidding.
Infinite games have rules that one imposes on themselves. They have no end in sight and the purpose of playing them is their continuation to — well, infinity.
Within both of these games, there are two important features.
Power matters only in finite games, and is used to bring the past to an end, and resolve the finite game. Power restricts the freedom individuals have within the limits of the game. Power is what finite players play for.
Strength matters in infinite games. Although trivially equated, it opposes power. What infinite games others play is of little interest to infinite players, and they even seek to initiate actions of others. Strength relates to the freedom individuals have within the limits of a game. Everyone possesses strength, which sets boundaries of what other players can do while playing finite games with infinite players. Strength is not, and cannot be used to make one do another’s bidding.
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Use of strength and power is what matters most, according to Carse. Application of strength necessarily enriches individuals and widens the playing field, it doesn’t bring the play to a close. What brings evil into the world is the expression of acquired power. Ending a finite game is not evil, as its end is the purpose of playing that game.
Evil is the termination of infinite play.
Eliminating the play of another regardless of rules is evil. The request that one’s titles are recognized and competition to cease, is to ask that another is silenced, and that nothing more is heard from them. Such a request presupposes that history has a definite, specific end. That there is a plan, and that the playing field should be razed in accordance with the desires of those who wield power. To do this, the powerful must restrict all possible play only to finite games.
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Recognizing evil in power means recognizing that the powerful have little strength — otherwise they would not reach for power. The weak strive for power, as they fear the impotence of their ability to observe and play with others. This thread connects brick-wall families, abusive relationships, centralized politics —people with power, without strength. Those are forms of relations in which submission to an authority is demanded under threat, and not voluntary— as this would also mean the freedom to disregard an authority.