Understanding Power: A Guide to Civic Engagement

We navigate systems of power daily, often unaware of their influence. Understanding power dynamics is crucial for effective citizenship and shaping the world around us. This article explores the sources of power, how it operates, and how you can become more empowered in public life.

What is Power?

Power is the ability to make others do what you want them to do. This concept applies to various aspects of life, from personal relationships to the workplace. In the civic arena, power involves influencing a community to make choices and take actions aligned with your goals.

The Six Sources of Civic Power

There are six primary sources of power in the civic sphere:

• Physical Force: Control over the means of force, such as the police or a militia, represents power in its most basic form.
• Wealth: Money provides the capacity to achieve desired outcomes and acquire other forms of power.
• State Action: Government utilizes laws and bureaucracy to compel specific behaviors.
• Social Norms: Societal expectations and beliefs influence behavior and can even lead to changes in laws. Evolving norms around marriage equality exemplify this.
• Ideas: Powerful ideas, such as individual liberties or racial equality, can inspire widespread change in thinking and action.
• Numbers: A large, vocal group of people can exert power by demonstrating collective interest and asserting legitimacy. The Arab Spring and the Tea Party movements illustrate this principle.

The Three Laws of Power

Understanding how power operates involves recognizing three key laws:

1. Power is Never Static: In the civic arena, power is constantly either accumulating or decaying. Inaction means being acted upon.
2. Power is Like Water: It flows through everyday life. Politics involves directing that flow, while policymaking aims to freeze and perpetuate a particular power dynamic. Policy is power frozen.
3. Power Compounds: Power tends to generate more power, and powerlessness can lead to further disempowerment. Preventing the concentration of power in the hands of a few requires establishing rules that limit accumulation and prevent the entrenchment of privilege in policy.

Becoming More Powerful

To become more powerful in public life, cultivate power literacy. This involves learning to "read" and "write" power.

Reading Power

• View society as a collection of texts.
• Identify who holds what kind of power and within what systems.
• Understand the historical context and the motivations of those who maintain the status quo.
• Study the strategies employed by others in similar situations, such as frontal attacks, indirect approaches, coalition building, or charismatic leadership.

Writing Power

• Believe in your right to create change.
• Express yourself authentically.
• Organize your ideas and other people.
• Practice consensus building and conflict resolution.
• Set objectives and adapt your strategies based on observation and experience.

The Why of Power

Ultimately, the most important question is: What is your purpose in seeking power? Do you aim to benefit everyone or only yourself? Are your goals pro-social or anti-social? Character combined with power creates a great citizen.

By understanding the sources and dynamics of power, and by developing your power literacy, you can become a more effective and engaged citizen, capable of shaping the world around you.