Power is one of the most important elements of life. Many people have written on the importance of power, Lord Acton1, (Lord Acton Quote Archive) is probably the most famous example but Saul Alinsky (1971) and Krupali, (2020) among others also discussed its importance. My own definition of power is a simple one, “The degree to which we are able to act to influence our environment, - to get things done, or make things happen; or to keep things from getting done, or happening.” (Lee, 2011)
Today, we live in an age where bromides about power seem to abound. Power is seen as a bad or corrupting force and to be avoided (Shea, 2012) for example. Or, power is a good thing, and within us all, as Hay (1991) suggests. A corollary of that is that we do not, and cannot, be powerful if we do not believe we are powerful and thus, to be powerful (in a good way), requires that we believe that we have power and the agency to achieve what needs achieving. There is a quote by Alice Walker (2004) that fits snugly in the latter which I have seen numerous times in numerous situations. She is reported to say that, "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." I am not sufficiently familiar with the works of Ms. Walker so this may be taking her words out of context. But, sharing this kind of pithy wisdom as it is, grossly distorts the reality within which we live our daily lives. It strikes one as a version of the old mantra of Norman Vincent Peale, and the title of his very famous book, The Power of Positive Thinking. If we think positively, we will act positively and things will turn out the way we want them to. It is also similar to the notion peddled by Dale Carnegie in his speeches and books, particularly, How to Win Friends and Influence People.
There is a serious difficulty with this position and it is two-fold. First, it lays the responsibility for possessing power squarely at the feet of the individual, it makes every person the author of their own ability to manage their environment or to fail at the task. If we don’t handle our environment – we are poor, we are discriminated against, we are uneducated – it is because we don’t understand our own abilities, or are lacking in some way, and thus allow those kinds of things to happen to us, as if our social, political and economic contexts are simply effects which we can overcome with the right attitudes. The believers in the Ayn Rand philosophy of Objectivism advocate this position but, her beliefs don’t make it true and indeed fly in the face of a vast array of social science research (Children International; American Psychological Association, 2015). This brings us to the second problem.
The individualizing coin ignores the realities of the world we live in, its racism, sexism, ableism, etc. We know from the reading of history that Ayn Rand, and her ilk, have missed the complexity of life and obviously have either never heard of the John Donne poem, For Whom the Bell Tolls2 (or don’t much care for it) and/or of Antonio Gramsci (who, we can be sure Ms. Rand would have no use for either) and his powerful notion of hegemony: the ability of the capitalist system to inculcate a habit or culture of belief that the social system is the natural order of life, that we live in a kind of Panglossian world where everything is for the best and as it should be. Most of us, liberal and left, agree more or less with Gramsci. Various systems, fascism and capitalism for example, create and structure a state of being where people are taught, or even coerced into, seeing themselves as part of some species of social/political/economic machine. Simply saying that “believing” and “wishing” that we have power is naive. Telling poor people or racially marginalized people that all they have to do is “BELIEVE is useless and counterproductive, or worse. My study of social change and my experience as an organizer, as well as my involvement in social movements, tells me that there is a trio of interrelated activities that are necessary for power. We need organization (bringing people together in large enough numbers and developing an organization) We need education (assisting people to reflect on their own experience and build an analysis of the issues they face and their own resources) And we need collective action (individuals joining together in their numbers to demonstrate their ability to change minds and institutions) These are what is necessary to have and produce power.
A friend of mine, Maureen Burke, had a kind of differing perspective on power. She said,
'We do have power over how we react to these various structures. Artists have created some of the most powerful and influential art under the most oppressive political systems. We have the power to change the minds and hearts of people whether we are allowed to express our views or not. Conversations among ourselves have the power to create change and change minds.'
I rather agree with my friend, and would suggest that each of her good examples involves some sort and level of action and a connection with others. But individuals simply “believing” as a way to empower oneself or for groups to empower themselves, only works to the extent that it is based in some specific reality, shared with others and then acted upon. They only work to the extent that the environment and/or situation allows. Still, if Alice Walker expressed herself more as my friend did, I think that my reaction would have been different and I probably would not have written this little reflection.
Resources:
Alinsky. S. (1971). Rules for Radicals. New York: Random House.
American Psychology Association (2015). “The Impact of Discrimination”. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2015/impact.
Children International (undated). “The poverty problem: Facts & issues”. https://www.children.org/global-poverty/global-poverty-facts?rs_id=451&utm_campaign=rkd_fy21&utm_medium=cpc+grant&utm_source=google&attr=rkd_search_grant&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-bXdh4b18QIVRG1vBB0u0wKIEAAYASAAEgIK0_D_BwE.
Hay, L. (1991). The Power Is Within You Paperback. Hay House Inc.
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