Power denying it has power is not a bug. It’s the feature. You’ve spotted one of the oldest tricks in the political grifter’s handbook, so congratulations—you’re now officially harder to govern.

Here’s what’s going on underneath the pageantry, minus the incense and uniforms:

1. Power wants obedience without responsibility

If power openly says “I rule you”, it invites resistance, accountability, and—worst of all—questions. If it says “I don’t rule; the People / History / God / the Revolution does”, then any harm becomes… mysterious. Tragic. Nobody’s fault. Certainly not the guy in the sunglasses.

Ghaddafi claiming he had “no power” is classic. If he’s merely the expression of popular will, then criticizing him is criticizing the people themselves. Very rude. Possibly treason.

2. Legitimacy works better when it looks natural

Real domination wants to feel like gravity: impersonal, inevitable, just “how things are.” Saying “this is democracy” or “this is a people’s republic” turns coercion into background noise. Violence still exists, obviously, but symbolically it disappears behind paperwork and slogans.

Tyrannies don’t call themselves tyrannies because tyranny is socially embarrassing. “Democracy,” on the other hand, is a premium brand label. Everyone wants the packaging, even if the contents are a boot.

3. Power prefers to appear empty

This is where your Baudrillard instincts are showing, by the way. Power often claims it doesn’t exist as a centralized force—only procedures, laws, traditions, committees. No one is deciding; things are just happening.
That’s not humility. That’s camouflage.

If no one has power, then no one can be held responsible. Which is extremely convenient for the people with all the power.

4. Calling yourself “the people” eliminates alternatives

If the regime is the people, then opposition is, by definition, anti-people. Enemies of the people. Traitors. Deviations. Bugs in the system.

This move collapses political pluralism into moral failure. You’re no longer disagreeing—you’re defective. Power loves this because it turns repression into “maintenance.”

5. Power fears naming itself

Openly naming power exposes it as contingent, historical, and therefore replaceable. Saying “I rule because I rule” is honest—but honesty is terrible for longevity.

So power lies. Repeatedly. Often sincerely. It insists it is merely:

• administrative

• temporary

• reluctant

• technical

• neutral

• or already gone

Ghaddafi wasn’t joking when he said he had no power. He was performing an ideology in which power disappears into symbolism, while remaining very present in prisons.

The underlying logic (the short version)

Power denies itself because:

• power wants to be obeyed, not seen

• seen power can be challenged

• unnamed power feels inevitable

• inevitability feels like legitimacy

Or, more bluntly:
Power says “I don’t exist” so you won’t ask why it hurts when it steps on you.

If you want, we can tie this to Foucault (power as diffuse), Arendt (violence vs legitimacy), or modern “technocratic” governance where everyone insists they’re just following the algorithm. Because yes—this nonsense is alive and well.