Power, in whichever form that it may be in, is an entity that most human beings want to posses. This is a primitive urge, for if you have power it is more likely that you will survive in order to spread your genes. In modern time, “power” has ceased to be so simple, and has become more of a complex apparatus. However the pursue of power is fueled by the same motives as our ancestors had. Power gives man a sense of authority that subjugates others into his control. Therefore, one can conclude that man exercise power and authority through primitive fashions, but with a rather complex goal in mind to restrict other men’s liberties, therefore increasing his power.
However, before we analyze the methods in which man flaunts his socio-political hegemony one must first realize where this power first originates from. To fully understand where a leader receives his authority one must look at cases where the people openly support the ruler or government. In these cases power is bestowed upon the leader democratically or willingly by the people making the practice of their power inconspicuous, for if you are willing to follow someone their orders do not really seem like orders at all. To exemplify take priests, who because of religion, have social power given to them through the facade of “love”. To the followers, the priest can do no wrong, and their commands only serve to benefit them. This is a dangerous type of power because it encourages a type of blind obedience. This can be seen in the Milgram experiment where test subjects demonstrated a complete obedience similar to the obedience seen in religious followers. However the key thing to note here is that this extreme obedience does not only stop at the extremely religious, but to common people as well. Good people can be pushed to do callous and severe actions by a powerful authority figure; everyday responsible men can be seduced by the trappings of authority. In order for any ruler to establish his power he will need a group of these complete followers the rest of the people can be subdued through conformity and force. From here one might be able to see the whole picture: conformity, obedience, and force all have to do with one thing, the people. Power comes from how much control one can exert over the general public.
In the short story “Yertle the Turtle” by Dr. Seuss, one can see this primal need for power unfold. King Yertle realizes that he is not content with the extent of his power. Power in this book is associated with how much Yertle could see, thus the only logical way to increase his power is to achieve greater altitude. Hence, Yertle decides to use his subjects, the other turtles to build a higher throne. This can be taken as a perfect analogy to the ideas expressed in the preceding paragraph. That the thrones of kings are made from the people they rule. This is most highlighted by the introduction of Mack, the last turtle in the pile, who Yertle is especially cruel to. This lack of compassion can be seen as a way in which ruler show their dominance. Yertle yells out his commands in a rough,brute, and intimidating fashion. This could be interpreted as a leader that uses force to gain control over the people.
Force and physical intimidation are all very primitive ways to exercise power and this is seen in human beings. This is especially true when one looks at a more minute social aspect of human interaction. In ape society, a males main tool to secure a dominance status is aggression. This is applicable to how human males exert their power as well. I do submit that the methods in which humans are aggressive has evolved alongside us over the years. However the principle idea remains intact, humans, especially males, are aggressive to show of their power.
Furthermore, this use of aggression to demonstrate power does not stop at the physical, but extends to the practices of a more tactical approach. Take for example the secret police forces in totalitarian states that turned neighbor against neighbor, and subjugated nations to a ubiquitous surveillance of the people themselves. This can be seen in Nazi Germany with the Gestapos, in which people were telling on other people even if their suspicions were false or done to simply cause mayhem to their fellow person. Moreover, taking a more international approach to the use a force, one can observe militarization through nationalism as a way to demonstrate power to other countries through the use of the military. The military in this sense is a country’s muscles, and militarization is flexing these muscles. Nationalism is the vehicle that allows it to happen, the catalyst in other terms.
My final point will be that man exercises power by limiting other people’s liberty. I state this because the one instrument that can manipulate freedom in such a way is power. For this I point to Stalin’s russia, in which Stalin, due to his power, was able to ignore or strip away his people’s freedoms to enhance his ambitions for Russia. For example the economic policies Stalin implemented were brutal to the liberties of the peasants. One such policy was collectivization where Stalin imprisoned, deported, and even executed anyone who opposed him. Now in these circumstances we can see how power is clearly demonstrated through the oppression of the less-powerful. Every man desires to preserve his own liberty, and only true excessive power can take it away from him. Lastly, the more of liberties man can take away the more powerful he becomes.
Works Cited:
- Milgram, Stanley; Some Conditions of Obedience and Disobedience to Authority.
- Suess, Dr. Yertle the Turtle. New York, Random House. 1958
- Muller, Martin, Mitani, John. Conflict and Cooperation in Wild Chimpanzees.
- Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy; 1945. New York
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