power

Power

by Bob on February 7, 2008

The acquisition, excercising, and retention of power is an amazing study. It has alway been elusive in its deeper origins.

Many people have written scholarly books and popular books on power and the origin of it.

The question is how is it acquired and kept.

On a macro-level, obviously superpowers can intimidate and dictate to smaller countries based on sheer military and economic force.

On a smaller scale, it is still puzzling how in a group of people, how a leader emerges and how that leader obtained the power. Perhaps it was because he is the strongest and tallest or richest ? But surely, though, if he was leading ten people, if they didn't like him they could beat him up and win the leadership role because ten people can overcome one person even if he is a leader, unless he is a mythical giant.

But the people don't do this. It's as if they let the leader lead them because they don't want to do it themselves. This is natural because leadership and being boss takes time and a lot of energy. But at a cost to the led people. They obey the leader and carry out his wishes.

Dr. Hannah Arendt wrote in her magnum opus, "Totalitarianism" that the dictator or leader, if you will, is carrying out the common unexpressed will of the people which they themselves want to be carried out but will not do themselves. Dr. Arendt claims that this is the origin of the dictator's power. Perhaps laziness of the common man or more kindly, the common man has other things he wants to do rather than lead. Perhaps also he doesn't want the responsibility either. So the group of people allows someone to be the leader and then takes it for granted that he is powerful, or allows him to be powerful for a while.

This is all very complicated interpersonally. But maybe it's simple if we realise that most people just want to do some work, get paid, have love, children, be entertained, go to sleep, and work again. They want someone else to worry about the big picture and take responsibility. This is human nature at work.

That's, in principle, worrisome. But it's a fact. Likely from caveman times.