Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Can Power Be Created or Does It Have to Be Taken?
Today in class, Mr. Stewart mentioned the idea of power being able to be created versus power being able to be taken. I think that power cannot be created and must be taken from others, whether it be through a peaceful transfer of power, an overthrow of power, a sharing of power (which diminishes the amount of power each individual has), or something else. The idea of power is that it gives people an advantage or ability that surpasses those of others as Mr. Stewart discussed in his notes on power. These advantages or abilities include being able to overtake others, to impose one's will, or to impose certain effects towards others. Therefore, there always has to be people who are powerless or have comparatively less power for power to even have meaning. If power could be created, it could lead to a situation where everyone eventually gains power, meaning the power gained would paradoxically not exist since power is relative. As a result, the only way to gain power is to take it from someone else (although it does not necessarily have to be in a malicious way).
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I think that this is a really good point, and one that I agree with. Often people speak of deaths of rulers or the collapse of a regime and how these create "power vacuums". If power could theoretically be created, it wouldn't make sense to call these periods of chaos and struggle for power a "power vacuum", because people would be less concerned about who takes the available power, since power could be created. However because it cannot be created, just taken, this means these "vacuums" are very valuable, because the power is up for grabs, and that is one of the few ways to gain it. (This was a long winded way of saying I agree with your statement, and adding another example of how power is taken not created).
ReplyDeleteI agree that power can be taken from others, but I think that I also can be created. If someone creates something, and that thing that they created gains more followers and power, then isn't that also an indirect creation of power? I think that power certainly can be taken from others, but in order for it to be taken, it has to be created by someone or something.
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