PowerChris Hanretty

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Power to versus power over

Power over: a definition

Three dimensions of power

Empirical application

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Warnings

Conceptual analysisCriteria for conceptual analysis:clarity, applicability, intelligibility,match with ordinary languageEmpirical issues important butdiscussed at endLinks back to issues of falsification

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#1:

Power to versuspower over

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Two variants

A has the power to do something. . .versus A has power over BExample of the former: does Chinahave the power to send a man to themoonExample of the former: am Iempowered to stamp documents witha UEA stamp?

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Why are we interested inpower over?

Does this sound too conflictual?Very often, the power to do somethingrequires having power over individuals'Power to' without `power over' oftenuninteresting

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#2:

Power over: adefinition

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An attempt

A has power over B when A hasthe capacity to affect B in amanner contrary to B's interests

Lukes (2005), Power: A Radical View Myparaphrase.

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An attempt

A has power over B when A hasthe capacity to affect B in amanner contrary to B's interests

Lukes (2005), Power: A Radical View Myparaphrase.

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An attempt

A has power over B when A hasthe capacity to affect B in amanner contrary to B's interests

Lukes (2005), Power: A Radical View Myparaphrase.

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An attempt

A has power over B when A hasthe capacity to affect B in amanner contrary to B's interests

Lukes (2005), Power: A Radical View Myparaphrase.

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As and Bs

What types of things can slot in for Aand B?Countries? (China has power overNorth Korea)B must at least have interestsDo collective actors have interests?

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Capacity and exercise (1)

Brittleness is a capacity, or dispositionBottles have the (negative) capacity tobreak under certain conditions

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Capacity and exercise (2)

Power is a capacity, or a dispositionalattributeWe don't walk in to 10 Downing Streetand see the exercise of powerThis causes problems for empiricalresearchImplicit counterfactual: were thisperson to act (cf. were we to throwthe bottle against the wall)

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InterestsCompare

A has power over B when A hasthe capacity to affect B in amanner contrary to B's interests(Lukes-esque)

withA has power over B to the extenthe can get B to do something thatB would not otherwise do (Dahl)

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Other forms of `causingpeople to act'

PersuasionEncouragementInducementGeneral co-operative endeavour

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Power and the powerful

What is it to be powerful?Simply to have power over a widerange of other people,. . .with the capacity to affect them inways that touch on (core) interests oftheirs,. . .and to do so across a range of issues

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What problems does thiscause?

We need a (defensible) account ofpeople's interestsWe can take people's preferences asgivenCan or must we go further?

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#3:

Threedimensions ofpower

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Lukes' PRV

1st dimension: power indecision-making2nd dimension: power of agendacontrol3rd dimension: power to shapeinterests

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Decision-making:background

The Yalies (Dahl, Polsby)The Rest (C Wright Mills)What is this Power Elite of which youspeak?

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Decision-making: premises

Identify precisely the As and BsIn this case, economic elites versusthe restIdentify conflict between these groupsIdentify decisionsAsk whether A or B got what theywanted

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Decision-making: findings

Economic resources in New Havenunequally distributed`Power' distributed in a pluralisticfashion. . .over a range of issues (appointments,housing, education)

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Agenda control

The Bachrach and Baratz counter:Some powerful individuals mightprefer certain decisions not to betaken(Presumably they believe that thedecision, if taken, would go againstthem)We have to check which items go onto the agenda

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Observing this

This is a point about agenda controlThis is not just a point about formaldecision-making agendas (though ithelps explain why secretaries are morepowerful than we think)it is also a point about the mobilizationof bias and inertia``Yes, of course, we'll talk about thatsoon''

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Shaping interests

We've been taking interests at facevalueWhat if people are mistaken abouttheir interestsWhat's the Matter with Kansas?

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False consciousnessIf you posit a difference between realand stated interests, anotherdimension opens upThis is the power to shape people'sinterests (away from their realinterests)`Bourgeois morality' and `falseconsciousness'Intuitively helps us make sense of themedia

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt39je8Jbew

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#4:

Empiricalapplication

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Real interests

Ivory tower much?Are claims about real interests the kindof claims that can be tested?Which named individuals exercise thispower?

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