Newsletter january 2026

Number 13

"You need power, only when you want to do something harmful otherwise. Love is enough to get everything done."

 I've had this quote by Charlie Chaplin saved on my computer for a while, thinking I'd write something about it sometime. I think the beginning of 2026 would be a good opportunity.

These days, it seems like the world revolves entirely around competition, control and power. If you want to achieve something, power seems indispensable; you need to have influence or be able to exert a lot of pressure. But that power largely comes through coercion, instilling fear, and applying pressure. Plenty of examples in this seemingly increasingly harsh world.

Power works through coercion: rules, sanctions, violence, and manipulation are all tools to push through something that would otherwise be unacceptable. Moreover, you can manipulate people through the media by telling half-truths or no truths at all, and repeating them over and over again. Immediately proclaiming something without knowing the actual facts. Labeling people as "lunatics, terrorists, idiots." And so on.

I don't consider power a sign of moral strength, but actually of moral weakness. It's apparently necessary to achieve your goal, to push through your ideas. Making distinctions, in any way, between people and population groups is used to justify violence, to justify oppression. Especially when all the differences between people are magnified and people no longer truly listen to each other. And then freedom is also destroyed. And unfortunately, our newspapers are full of this.

History, however, shows time and again that things built solely on power sooner or later collapse. They expend enormous amounts of energy maintaining themselves and eventually start to lash out. Will we ever learn?

Love is enough to get everything done.

Love, on the other hand, creates support. A parent doesn't need to exercise power over a child who feels safe and seen. A leader doesn't need to instill fear in people who feel respected. A society has no fear when people feel connected to each other. Love actually makes power redundant because it breeds engagement. It invites cooperation, dedication, and responsibility. Where power moves people against their will, love moves people from their will. That difference is crucial.

But love also requires courage; it requires listening, patience, and the ability to accept differences. And that is often more difficult than using power. Power is fast. Power commands obedience. Love builds trust. But what love accomplishes endures through mutual respect. Anyone who wants to achieve something truly valuable doesn't need power, but trust and respect.
This doesn't mean rules and boundaries aren't necessary. But they function best when they stem from respect rather than fear. A boundary set out of love protects. A boundary set out of a desire for power oppresses.

Love demands more from us, but it ultimately gives more back. It connects where power divides. It heals where power harms.