I wonder if power is a limited substance - coz it seems like the more power these pricks vacuum up, the more powerless the normal person becomes. It flows directly from one to the other.

If we're talking about sociopolitical power, then wouldn't it be defined as being the extent to which one controls (use the verb of your choice: owns, directs, etc.) the potential of oneself and other people?

So, to the extent that somebody can control my potential as a human being, they control me. By this definition, freedom is having complete control over one's own potential. Slaves have very little control over their own potential. People living in totalitarian societies likewise have very little control over their own potential (i.e., no choice) and so have little freedom.

We saw how the covid police took control of our potential as individuals. That potential is gold. It's worth more than absolutely anything else. Nothing is more valuable to those thirsting for power than being able to direct the potential of other people.

By this definition, it is finite. A nightmare of totalitarian types would be having nobody to control. Maybe that's what countries are ultimately fighting over. Not resources, but human potential, which I guess is the ultimate resource.