A SERIES OF ARTICLES ON MORALITY AND ETHICS, PUBLISHED IN SYNVERITAS — 1
…and film
Collage by author 1726502071
Selective Responsibility in Government and Corporate Best Practices
By Gunnar Ash, 1726502071
Below is Terry Richmond, played by **Aaron Pierre** in Rebel Ridge 2024 NetfliX…an arguably smarter Rambo…
In **Rebel Ridge** (2024), **Jeremy Saulnier** creates a tense montage that exposes small-town corruption and the systemic injustice confronted by Terry Richmond, masterfully played by Aaron Pierre. This is not a typical Rambo transformation although Richmond is a veteran.
Note to self, carry my cell phone facing forward. Record all interactions including law enforcement and post automatically on the web.
The story hinges on Terry’s attempt to post bail for his cousin, only for him to be thrust into a violent confrontation with corrupt local authorities. What makes the film even more poignant is the role played by **Don Johnson**, who is cast as the town’s smug and cruel(possibly, but unconfirmed, Republican) police chief, Sandy Burnne.
“Rebel Ridge” Is a Police Drama with a Difference
This role stands in diametric opposition to the good cop persona Johnson famously embodied in Miami Vice, released in 1918, offering audiences a glimpse of a lawman operating with complete disregard for fairness or justice(sort of like most US federal prosecutors, hahaha).
Johnson’s police chief manipulates his power with impunity, smirking as his officers enforce a deeply flawed system. System? More likely 18,000 flawed systems. And all similarly dysfunctional.
This depiction of authority, especially through the practice of **civil asset forfeiture**, shows how the law can be exploited for personal gain, a theme central to **Rebel Ridge**.
The cops, led by Johnson’s character, use their position to seize property and punish Terry for simply trying to do the right thing. Here, Johnson moves from his earlier hero roles into that of a corrupt figure, illustrating how easily those in power can evade accountability and perpetuate systemic abuses.
Vulture describes Rebel Ridge as a slow-burn thriller where the anticipation of violence is heightened by the unjust power dynamics that drive the plot. Terry’s struggle against corrupt officials mirrors the real-world consequences of unchecked authority, highlighting how individuals in positions of power manipulate systems to their advantage, while creating real victims below them.
And Now For Something Completely Different…Not
How can one tell…STRIKE THAT…(heck) how can one demonstrate when, where, and how the system is being leveraged by private interests? In other words, and more importantly when holding a person in the role of responsibility accountable…by whom…or who?
Tamás Hausel is a Hungarian mathematician known for his groundbreaking work in algebraic geometry, topology, and combinatorics, particularly focusing on moduli spaces, mirror symmetry, and non-Abelian Hodge theory.
His research has a strong connection to mathematical physics, as he explores problems that arise in **string theory** and **quantum field theory**. His work involves using sophisticated tools from **representation theory** to study the geometry and topology of spaces and their interactions with algebraic structures.
Hausel has held positions at prestigious institutions worldwide. After earning his PhD at **Trinity College, Cambridge**, under the supervision of **Nigel Hitchin**, he held academic positions at the **University of Texas at Austin**, **University of Oxford**, and **École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne** (EPFL). He is currently a professor at the **Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)**.
Over his busy career, Hausel has been recognized with numerous awards, including the **Whitehead Prize** from the London Mathematical Society and an **ERC Advanced Investigator Grant**
See [oai_citation:5,Tamás Hausel — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tam%C3%A1s_Hausel) [oai_citation:4,ISTA.
Tamás Hausel new Professor and Chris Wojtan promoted to Professor](https://ist.ac.at/en/news/tamas-hausel-new-professor-and-chris-wojtan-promoted-to-professor/) [oai_citation:3,Tamás Hausel — Hausel Group](https://hausel.ista.ac.at/tamas-hausel/).
His work is especially important due to its ability to connect seemingly disparate fields of mathematics, such as topology and number theory, while also addressing questions in modern physics, like those posed by string theory.
Hausel’s research offers powerful frameworks for understanding how different structures can be related and how they interact — insights that have broader implications for both mathematics and theoretical physics.
Hausel’s work uncovers deeper connections between seemingly unrelated areas, expanding the frontiers of both pure mathematics and its scientific applications. A similar effort is evident in the Port Royal Grammar — a 17th-century linguistic framework developed by Antoine Arnauld and Claude Lancelot at the Jansenist Port-Royal-des-Champs monastery. Intended as a rational grammar, it sought to reveal the logical structures common to all languages, reflecting the universal principles of human thought. These attempts to find universal connections, whether through mathematics or language, reflect the goal of bridging distinct domains. Hausel’s mathematical “dictionary” parallels the Port Royal Grammar’s effort to establish structural rules that highlight shared patterns across disciplines.
To safeguard against systemic failure in governance, it is essential to examine the growing imbalance in accountability across both public and corporate sectors, particularly in relation to **selective responsibility** and **elective accountability**.
Absolute Immunity is ContraDemocratic Principles
In the U.S. system, **absolute immunity** granted to certain officials — such as judges and federal prosecutors — disrupts the fundamental principles of fairness and equality under the law. This immunity allows powerful individuals and institutions to operate under different standards than ordinary citizens or lower-level employees, creating a fractured system that undermines democratic values.
Democratic, compared to say tyrannical or oligarchic governance, resembles a mathematical **stack**, each level of authority should function cohesively and symmetrically with the others, maintaining coherence in how power is exercised. However, the **absolute immunity** granted to certain officials introduces a significant distortion in this system, where the actions of powerful figures are not subjected to the same scrutiny as those at lower levels. This selective responsibility allows certain actors to evade legal and ethical accountability, while others are held to stricter standards. The imbalance is particularly evident in the **98% conviction rate** in federal courts, which often skews in favor of the prosecution due to the unchecked power of federal prosecutors.
In the corporate world, selective responsibility manifests in similar ways, with executives often benefiting from **limited liability** and **regulatory loopholes**, while lower-tier employees or smaller actors face the full consequences of legal or financial breaches. For instance, **Jamie Dimon**, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has never been held personally accountable for the bank’s violations, despite the company accumulating over $39 billion in fines for financial misconduct. These fines, while substantial, have not affected the executive leadership in a way that would reflect true responsibility.
Selective responsibility, whether in governance or corporate best practices, creates a power structure where accountability is elective for those in higher positions. It allows leaders to shield themselves from the full repercussions of their actions while imposing more stringent rules on others. This not only erodes public trust in institutions but also weakens the foundational coherence of legal and corporate systems. Without meaningful reform to reduce these legal immunities and ensure equal standards of accountability, the structural integrity of democratic governance and corporate ethics will continue to fray.
Coda and Glossary
Here the attempt is in connecting mathematical terms in topology and algebra to their applications in Data Science, Philosophy, and Literature
**1. Vector Bundle**:
*Mathematical Definition*: A vector bundle is a collection of vector spaces parametrized continuously by points of a topological space. These local vector spaces are “glued” together to create a global structure.
*Data Science Application*: In distributed computing, a vector bundle is akin to distributed data across nodes, where local computations are combined to maintain a global structure (e.g., in MapReduce frameworks).
*Philosophical/Literary Application*: In philosophy, a vector bundle represents how individual beliefs or moral frameworks must connect to a broader ethical structure. In literature, this could symbolize how fragmented narratives or characters’ arcs merge into a cohesive story.
**2. Base Space**:
*Mathematical Definition*: The underlying topological space of a fiber bundle where each point has a corresponding fiber (e.g., a vector space).
*Data Science Application*: In machine learning, the base space could represent input features, with each fiber representing potential predictions or classifications.
*Philosophical/Literary Application*: In governance or legal systems, the constitution acts as the base space, providing a foundation for laws (fibers) at different levels of government. In literature, the base space could be the underlying themes or morals, with the characters or events serving as fibers.
**3. Kernel**:
*Mathematical Definition*: In algebra, the kernel of a function is the set of inputs that map to zero.
*Data Science Application*: In algorithms, the kernel can represent the feature transformation function in support vector machines or in neural networks, identifying which features are most influential.
*Philosophical/Literary Application*: In law, the kernel is the foundational principles (e.g., fairness, justice) that should guide actions and decisions. In literature, the kernel can be seen as the core moral conflict or theme that drives the narrative.
**4. Cocycle**:
*Mathematical Definition*: A function that ensures consistency across overlapping regions in a fiber bundle, essential for transitioning between local spaces.
*Data Science Application*: In distributed databases, cocycles ensure consistency across different nodes, especially in maintaining coherence during data synchronization.
*Philosophical/Literary Application*: In governance, a cocycle represents the principles that align different legal systems and institutions, ensuring fairness. In literature, cocycles can symbolize the invisible threads that maintain continuity in complex narratives, ensuring that diverse plot points align coherently.
**5. Homology**:
*Mathematical Definition*: A concept in algebraic topology that studies the properties of spaces that are invariant under deformation, such as the number of holes in a surface.
*Data Science Application*: In network theory, homology can help identify structural features in complex networks, such as the presence of communities or clusters.
*Philosophical/Literary Application*: In governance, homology represents how different institutions should align to preserve the integrity of the system. In literature, it refers to underlying patterns or motifs that remain consistent throughout a story, even as characters or events change.
**6. Sheaf**:
*Mathematical Definition*: A structure that assigns data to the open sets of a topological space, ensuring that local data is consistent with the global structure.
*Data Science Application*: In version control (e.g., Git), each branch is a local piece of data, while the main branch ensures global consistency across all updates.
*Philosophical/Literary Application*: In legal systems, the constitution or moral law acts as a sheaf, ensuring that local rulings are consistent with overarching legal principles. In literature, a sheaf could represent the unifying theme that ties together different narrative threads.
**7. Fiber**:
*Mathematical Definition*: The space attached to each point of a base space in a fiber bundle.
*Data Science Application*: In recommendation systems, fibers represent the personalized suggestions attached to each user profile (base space).
*Philosophical/Literary Application*: In governance, fibers are local laws and regulations connected to the broader legal framework. In literature, fibers can be individual character developments or subplots that feed into the overarching narrative.
**8. Moduli Space**:
*Mathematical Definition*: A space that parametrizes families of geometric objects, classifying them according to their symmetries and relationships.
*Data Science Application*: In optimization, moduli spaces help visualize the solution space for complex problems, where each point represents a potential configuration.
*Philosophical/Literary Application*: In politics, moduli spaces represent the balance of power between branches of government, ensuring checks and balances. In literature, it symbolizes the different possible outcomes or moral paths that a narrative can take, all within a structured framework.
Each of these terms, grounded in mathematics, provides a framework for analyzing and understanding the structure of complex systems, whether they be in governance, data science, or literary analysis. They reveal how local actions or components (individuals, data points, characters) contribute to a larger, cohesive whole when properly connected to an overarching framework (base space or moral law).
