All quoted definitions from dictionary.com chosen for purposes of this thought.
Power: from Old French – “to be able.”
Power (as a noun): “a person or thing that possesses or exercises authority or influence.”
Power (as a verb): “to make powerful; inspire; spur; sustain; enable.”
Deference: “submission to or compliance with the will of another.”
One's deference to another comes from fear, respect, or some combination thereof.
Today, the greater the influence and/or the greater the deference paid, the greater the power.
What happened to Power as a verb?
It seems to me that the greatest power would be to enable and/or sustain, unconcerned with deference and beyond one's self interest.
Today, we are under the impression that to enable another will somehow equitably disable our self.
If one requires deference from another to feel powerful, the power they exercise is an abuse.
I have said before that Justice requires empathy minus entitlement and self-interest.
Justice also requires Power as a verb.
Humane: “characterized by tenderness, especially for the suffering or distressed.”
Human: “feeling; fallible; forgivable.”
To be humane is to consider Justice for all of Humanity, past, present and future.
To be human is to consider Justice on a much, much smaller scale; i.e. one's self or one's close, personal cohort.
By its nature, any process, system or ideology is interested only in itself and cannot express or emote tenderness.
Any process, system or ideology that stands alone or is left largely to its own devices is inhumane.
For a process to be humane it must be carefully guided by one or more humans whose priority is Justice.
Capitalism is inhumane.
A practicing individual capitalist can be both human and inhumane.
A practicing individual capitalist can also be both inhuman and inhumane.
A practicing individual capitalist, no matter how it is spun, will never be humane.
Nor will any size group of practicing capitalists, (from two friends to a political party to a country to western civilization).
To be humane requires one to be human; though paradoxically to be human will limit one's ability to be humane.
Today, when we work to improve a process, (in theory) we are working to gain efficiencies, but more often than not, we are merely adding layers of bureaucracy.
For our future, when we work to improve a process, we should also consider Justice.
Any process, system or ideology that never or seldom delivers on Justice should be scrapped and we should start over.
Any process, system or ideology that inconsistently delivers on Justice should be reworked.
Again, Justice requires empathy minus entitlement and self-interest AND Power as a verb.
Justification of a process, system or ideology is not Justice.
Capitalism is inhumane.