Social power is also somewhat logarithmic due to social structures and also things like economies of scale. The president of Monsanto has vastly more power than a single farmhand. With things like relationships, one can impact more than just the physical space around them as well.
To the point about side effects, varying degrees of power bring other things with it...admiration, jealousy, competition, responsibility, etc...and most people can't and won't perform well under such pressure.
While Gandalf is a good 'perfect' example, Frodo exemplifies the struggles of everyday people a bit better. We can see through the storyline how Frodo constantly struggles with the ring, and how close he comes to succumbing to it(Sam too!).
If we’re going for human examples, then I’d put forward Boromir as the one representing the reader. (And making your point.)
Frodo is a little simpler and a little kinder than we are; in much the same way that Gandalf is wiser — and so the ring can’t truly tempt Frodo the way it does Boromir (save your family!) or Gandalf (save the world!) or Galadriel (save your people!).
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And you can see the problem in the real world — people like the WEF and UN bureaucrats want to “use the ring” to solve public health and global warming. Which has brought us to the edge of global war, because their lust for power has overcome any good urges and they’re partway through a modern Four Pests program that will cause mass famines — and justify seizing family farms for their own enrichment. To save the environment.
But how do you oppose that without creating opposing power structures?
To the point about side effects, varying degrees of power bring other things with it...admiration, jealousy, competition, responsibility, etc...and most people can't and won't perform well under such pressure.
While Gandalf is a good 'perfect' example, Frodo exemplifies the struggles of everyday people a bit better. We can see through the storyline how Frodo constantly struggles with the ring, and how close he comes to succumbing to it(Sam too!).