If we study eastern philosophy, there is a consistent theme of interconnectedness and coherence of all beings. From Buddhist teachings to Sufi poets like Rumi, humans are believed to be manifestations of consciousness or Love. This view of compassion, harmony and wellbeing is highly in contrast to the world we have created. The contemporary world is highly capitalistic, negatively competitive, and solely driven by power.
The concept of power is often misunderstood as something that exists only in a hierarchy and believed to be exercised in a top-down fashion, however, on the contrary, it is an invisible force that exists and flows through all the humans existing in society. It is not just the government or the status quo — which are the obvious sources of power, but it manifests itself in the form of many material things (e.g. Money, social status, fame, physical/behavioral traits, political/identity groupings, sexuality etc.). It is that invisible force which exists between all humans and determines the outcome of their lives. Some people who are lucky enough to have obtained greater share of power either by nature or by the social construction of the society, exert this power to live a happy and fulfilled existence at the expense of many who either lack or have been robbed of such power.
Does Power Have a Center and a Direction?
Power is a coercive force that makes individuals do something against their will. It is like other physical forces such as gravity and magnetism which pull objects towards a certain direction. Once within the circles of power, individuals lose their true self — which is a coherent interconnected entity but form a false separate self with the individual as the epicenter of power. All human activities then are reduced to pursuit of power. If we take a metaphor of a motor vehicle engine for an individual, then the output force of that engine is power, and desire is the fuel of the engine. The power generated by the engine if guided and directed towards a certain goal (e.g., moving heavy objects) can be beneficial but can also be dangerous when it lacks a direction (e.g., traffic collisions).
In contrast to the traditional view of power in society, which assumes that it flows in a top-down hierarchical fashion and has a clear center, the power is distributed and has no single center within society, but it rather flows through all the people in society. Every individual has a certain amount of power which they exercise on objects and people around them. The direction of power is then from low magnitude to high magnitude. Just like gravity or magnetism, the people who posses higher magnitude of power pull/push everybody around them.
Knowledge is Power or Power Shapes the Knowledge
A common understanding of knowledge is that it is powerful. For example, having knowledge about business insights can lead to success and fortune, or knowledge about the military secrets can be decisive in determination of the outcome of a war. However, this view of the world is not consistent with what truly goes around underneath the surface. It is in-fact not the knowledge that gives power, but it is the power that shapes knowledge. The way the power structures of knowledge (e.g. education and research systems) are enforced determine the origination & direction of knowledge. This is evident from the way history has been written and shaped by the rulers, invaders, plunderers and conquerors who used their sheer power to establish the direction of knowledge. Similar can be experienced in the current scientific research enterprise where it is the power that determines what can be allowed to be published and what is not. If the research work or the researcher doesn’t speak the voice of the status-quo of science, it is deemed invalid and shunned altogether. It is no different than dogmatism which science replaced. The way scientific power structures have taken over and enforced themselves for the sole purpose of gatekeeping of knowledge, gives one a clear understanding of how knowledge is constructed and shaped by power.
Money is Power or Power Produces Wealth
Another often misunderstood concept is that the money is power, or the money makes the beholder powerful. It is true that money enables individuals to exercise their will onto others however, once again money is not the main reason one is powerful. It is actually the power that produces wealth and therefore, enables the acquisition of more power. Money flows towards power structures and individuals who own the power structures. If power is the magnet, then money is the iron sand which is attracted towards the power. For example, it is a lot easier for a politician or a bureaucrat to become rich than it is for a person that lacks such power.
Love is Power or Powerful is Lovely
The word love which is being used in our society, has no connection to the Love that Sufi or Christian Mystics professed. The word better suited for this materialistic love is Infatuation. This love is often thought of as a powerful force that drives and binds individuals. It can make people do things which they would otherwise not do. If we dig under the surface, this love is nothing but a set of emotional responses to a certain stimulus. That stimulus is what evokes the response and therefore, has all the power. It is quite provable that the more power someone has the more attractive one becomes. Of course, power cannot be just limited to physical might/beauty, but it could also be power of knowledge, power of persuasion, power of manipulation, fame, and other aspects of social power. No wonder people with higher social status are more desirable.
Social Belonging or Access to Power
Just like every individual possess a certain amount of power, every social group has a power that is the sum of all the individuals in that group. This means being member of a group grants one access to the collective power of that group which is obviously larger than the individual’s own power. This compels one to seek belonging in groups and therefore, enhance one’s social power. In this way, all social belonging pursuits are nothing but another manifestation of pursuits of power.
Pursuit of Justice or Distribution of Power
When a person lacks power in society, it can have detrimental effects on ones emotional and physical wellbeing. The lesser the power one has, the lesser are the chances of economic and social success. The individuals who lack power seek social justice in order to improve their lot of power. It is therefore clear that all pursuits of justice is nothing but an access to power because power is something that can directly affect one’s chances of survival.
Conclusions
Power is a force and like any other force it can be harnessed into producing something beneficial for the humanity or it can be used to wreak havoc. The same social powers (e.g. Money, social status, knowledge structures, fame etc.) can be a way to uplift humanity or can provide a way to enslave it. Unfortunately, it is the latter which is in practice in the contemporary society. Not sure if it changes anything, but maybe having knowledge about what lies underneath the social façade can help one navigate better in the social world.