01. Overview

Welcome to the PowerMyth Index

Invisible and otherworldly forces have overwhelming influence on our existence. The economy. Levers of government. Spurious minds of the elite. All are complex entities with their own logics, to be controlled only by the small selection of operators who appear to know best. But what has come of this society shaped by experts and their algorithms, aside from a public too anxious and divided to afford even basic opportunity for the poorest among us? The human experience is far too rich to be contained or represented by any rational order, yet claims of universal truth merely reinforce winners and losers of what should be a collaborative story.

Only through the mystical can the unseen be known and humanity find harmony. We can reshape our destinies if we uncover that which masquerades as divine will: Power. Despite how it may often seem, Power is not exclusively held by those supposed experts who know how to wield it. Power can be generated. The forms it takes on are numerous, however, and we are always partially blinded by Myth of our own making. Stories we tell to perceive the world eventually become the unstated, the taken-for-granted, and the assumptions that inform our decision-making. So, only through collective action can we truly comprehend these hidden mechanisms of society.

Individually, we are captured by the influence of what we do not yet know. Together, we can QUESTION EVERYTHING.

Uhhhhh okay so basically, a lot of our knowledge gets siloed across specialty and identity in a way that obscures patterns and forsakes our inherent connectedness. That's not good. This website aims to build out Power as a universal contact language so that perspectives across fields of study can be in conversation with one another.

Given the absence of an objective reality, this isn't intended to build some single explanation of the world. In fact, research and experiences included in the Index's various reading lists will sometimes be in direct conflict, and that's okay! Take it from the preeminent philosopher of our era:

The context of these ideas is more important than the ideological consistency among them. Ideally, this will leave you with multiple pathways to find what you need to get the job done. Think of the PowerMyth Index as your grandpa's old toolbox, with a little bit of everything mixed in. Goodbye overwhelming hopelessness, hello decentralized avenues for direct action in a unified mission!! Hooray!!

The Framework

Every page on the Index is written through its relation to Power, so it is highly recommended to read that section before any others. Just in case though, here is a basic summary of key concepts.

Power is much more than a means for people to dominate each other. Instead...

• Power is a ubiquitous force that determines the boundaries of their Realm of Freedom, or what every person can or can't do;
• When we come together to govern a society, the perspectives of some people are more represented than others in the collective Dominant Realm;
• Such influence is baked into the social stabilizers of institutions and culture (Realm Enforcers), which then serve to maintain the status quo and reinforce exclusion;
• Those advantaged with certain accumulative properties, such as wealth and status (Power Capacitors), have a greater potential to shape the boundaries of what is possible; and
• The boundaries of what is possible in society are eternally being Negotiated due to the action of all actors.

This Index includes patterns of action that are commonly used to restrict freedoms (Power Weapons) and expand them (Power Tools), even though the distinction is often fuzzy. The Index also includes two sections on actors: Power Conduits are entities that operate as vessels for Power in unique ways, while Power Generators are those who mostly exist outside the Dominant Realm. All four sections help us understand the various ways Power can manifest.

Oh, and then there's Cyberspace... Well, stay tuned for that section. Lots of fun things down the pipeline.

Please visit the Sitemap to view all pages. To get situated with the academic debates (and personal decisions) that informed this Index, head to the Bibliography and Resources section.

Epic Disclaimers

I am not a researcher living in a bubble of pure science and reason, nor is this all intended to be some objectively correct lighthouse for the world's problems. Just because I'm compiling a bunch of ideas doesn't mean I'm absent one of my own, which also comes with limitations and blind spots. All this to say, expect contradictions!! I will criticize Categorization despite doing just that, I will question Academia while being part of it, and so on. Maybe two things can be true at once, maybe there's no such thing as truth, idk. But just keep that in mind I guess?

This Index will be WEIRD AND MESSY FOREVER!!! :O Ideas will keep evolving over time. Expect some pages to be delicately crafted essays while others will just be reference lists for now. Either way, my hope is that each page offers something you can chew on to help reexamine your own experiences.

ALSO! Sometime in the future when I get my life together, the end goal is to turn this project into a collaborative wiki. We need your contributions. We need your disagreements. I just... don't know how to logistically open that up yet?? In the meantime, if you have thoughts, recommendations, or hate mail, please send it my way at belmontindex@gmail.com!

~ Dillon Belmont, 4/16/2026