“Let the ruling classes
tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but
their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite.” – Karl
Marx
Power,
according to me, is a social construct, it is not something absolute. Who
determines how much power or influence a person has? It is we who internalize
what is fed to us. Let’s look at the model of a Marxist society where owners of
the factors of production exploit people. They lead people in to a state of
false consciousness and this is where they overpower them, this is where the
masses let them exercise injustice in the name of power. In reality, power does not exist at that point with the bourgeois , it is the masses who are vulnerable which in turn gives a rise to the concept of power and authority. If power means the ability to control or to have an impact on someone or something, then i believe anyone can possess
power, from a peasant to a wealthy land owner; we just need to realize what we
are capable of. This is what Karl Marx is talking about in the aforementioned quote;
no one can rule you and no one can control you unless you let them. The French revolution
and The Haitian Revolution are just two examples when people became empowered and united to stand up for their rights, these examples in history show us that we
all are equally powerful and competent enough to create an influence.
“Power
resides only where men believe it resides. [...] A shadow on the wall, yet
shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.”
―
George R.R. Martin
6 comments:
I agree that power is diffuse, but using the French and Haitian Revolutions as examples of people power is questionable at best. After all, both experienced counter-revolutions shortly after the initial revolutions and it has been argued that both societies experienced more negative than positive consequences from the revolutions.
I really liked the way you have given this concept of power diffusion, it is interesting to note that power actually lies in the hands of both the sides equally, it just depends on the way they utilize it. After all the idea behind strikes is precisely this too, that every class including the working class or employees or those not labelled to be in so much power can turn out to impose more powerful actions over those above them.
So everybody is somewhat able of making in influence.
Session 3-Negation of Free will and Measurement of Power
Power is commonly defined as ability to make people do what they are not willing to do but it is not a complete definition, according to me "influence" also overlaps with power to some extent as for example during elections, the candidates do not force people but they manipulate their minds. This manipulation can be through charismatic personality or making people believe that this person has guts to be chosen and he will be beneficial to them, so here comes the most untouched form of power which is actually a form of mind-playing. People are not aware that they are being influenced by someone, they consider themselves as free beings, doing their own wills but actually in the back head they are being influenced.
Power can not only be described as the authority of decision making but it also resides in not making decisions, power can also be held by some people but it is not necessary to be exercised by them.
Power can somehow be measured in terms of influence upon others, if someone can make people do work according to his will then he exercises more power as compared to a person who has a control on few people lives. Although there are no hard and fast rules for power measurement but in our society power can also be measured in terms of money as if we have more money, we can buy more people or we can bribe more. So in most contexts power and money go together in my opinion.
I agree that anyone can posess power. How ever, in reality it is not as simplistic. The example of the Marxist society if people are living under the state of false consciousness it is not exactly easy for them to escape from it. Many won't even realize it. The only way they maybe able to do so is by educating themselves which is not an option as easily available to many or even if it is an option the owners of the factors of production may not allow them to escape this 'false consciousness' so easily. So my point is that in a society as such, does the power really lie with the people?
With reference to the Haitian Revolution, the black slaves at that time were considered unworthy, they were deemed not even deserving of rights,democracy, liberty and equality. Who would have thought that they would take over when they were not even considered to be capable of doing anything other than manual labor ? Even if the revolutions were counterattacked and did not survive or prosper, it is the symbolism which is crucial. Taking another form of a social movement rather than a radical revolution,such as, the anti-colonial movements we can extract a much better example. Those movements were well organized, power needs to be executed in a systematic fashion. For instance India where negotiations were done between the British and the locals, if not entirety than at least partially they got their demands fulfilled after about a hundred years of getting ruled by foreigners these people channeled their power through their own political parties.
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