Page 76 - Big Idea

The Big Idea – Act 3

RIVAL 2: I don’t know how you figure out what to say to all these
different people, boss, but it sure seems to work.

RIVAL 1: Well, let me explain my technique; otherwise you wouldn’t
have a clue about what I’m doing. Everybody has three unconscious
categories of situations: those they want, those they don’t want, and
those they don’t want but will put up with. I say they’re unconscious
because people are generally unwilling to admit their weaknesses to
themselves, and these distinctions are definitely weaknesses,
particularly when a person considers himself in relation to others.

RIVAL 2: Eh?

RIVAL 1: Of course, you don’t understand human nature, do you,
you fool. But listen, anyway: people don’t want their fears and desires
publicly known, unless they conform to what is socially acceptable.
Why? Because, and this is a principle I adhere to strongly, knowledge
of the self is power. Let others know what you secretly crave or
dread, or let them know the limits of your tolerance for abuse, and
they will have a hold on you. Now, that fact of life is also known to
you, and to the others, but only in an unconscious way. I am fully
aware of it; I know my desires, my fears, my thresholds of pain.
Certainly, I will not make them public, but I admit them to myself;
and having so done, I am able to look into others and see their
hidden concerns.

RIVAL 2: Oh.

RIVAL 1: Yes, I can see where each person, according to the
outward signs of his character, differs from the generally-acceptable
norms of motivation. Now, how did all these people, with all these
different viewpoints, all wind up agreeing to support The Big Idea?

RIVAL 2: Beats me.

RIVAL 1: Well, I’ll tell you. It appeals to certain secret wishes people
have—yes, even people like you and me. They remain personal
fantasies because nobody wants to admit publicly that they desire a
world that’s pure and sweet and gentle and kind: in short, that they
don’t really like being tough and ruthless. To admire weakness is a
form of weakness, you understand?
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