While Oxenstierna's quote is the primary source, other figures have offered "pieces" to this puzzle through different lenses:
: Marcus Aurelius taught that while we cannot control how the "world" at large is ruled, we rule our own "internal world" through our perceptions and reactions. This is how the world is ruled
: More recently, biologist E.O. Wilson suggested a shift in rule, stating, "The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time... and make important choices wisely". While Oxenstierna's quote is the primary source, other
: Niccolo Machiavelli famously argued in The Prince that the world is ruled by power and the calculated use of any means—including cruelty or deception—to maintain that power. This is how the world is ruled