The information in this essay is based on Bertrand Russell’s: Power, A New Social Analysis, published in 1938.
The book is very much a product of its time; a time when war with Germany was about to begin. The Western world was divided between democracies and countries led by successful revolutionary dictators. Similar to what is happening now.
What is power? Is it good or bad? Or is it neutral, like a hammer when you need to put a nail in a wall? The origin of the word ‘power’ comes from the Latin word ‘potere’, which means ‘to be able’. In French the word ‘pouvoir’, both means ‘power’ and ‘to be able to’.
Let’s face it, without power, nothing would get done. My husband needs muscle power to mow the lawn. I need fine-motor power to move my fingers on the keyboard.
But that kind of power is self-contained, it’s neutral. The problem starts when someone wants to have power over other things or beings. Power over humans, non-humans, land etc. There is a difference between the amount of power you need to have enough to eat and pay for a roof over your head, and the kind of power that has caused problems for our species ever since we grew frontal lobes.
There are people who crave power more than others. I myself want power over my cat. I won’t let her pee wherever she likes and when I was a young mother, I had power over my children. I told them when to go to bed, what time to get up, etc. My husband was a CFO and had decision making power over a small staff. We all have some degree of power, if only to control our own thoughts.
But that kind of power is barely worth the name. It is the power of men that lead nations that we should be talking about. Good and bad leaders alike: Mahatma Gandhi, Hitler, Putin and George Washington, to name a few.
Marx had an economic explanation for what drives human behavior, and Freud said it was all about sex. But according to famous philosopher Bertrand Russell, the pursuit of power is fundamental to understanding human nature. ‘Power is a fundamental concept in Social Science, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics’. (From: Power, A New Social Analysis, by Bertrand Russell)
In other words, power stems from an infinite desire for something that will never be satisfied. ‘The Boa constrictor, when he has had his meal, sleeps until appetite revives’. He is content until he is hungry again. But with Man it is different. ‘Imagination is the goad that forces human beings into restless exertion after their primary needs have been satisfied.’
Powerful men/women want to lead. The good ones among them, also believe that what they can accomplish is also good for society. But for the despot, what they feel they can accomplish may or may not be good for society. They don’t really care.
Power seems to work like a magnet. The more power you have, the more you get. It also attracts others who have no direct power. The Trump base does not have individual power, but together, as a group, they feel powerful. They feel superior to non-group members.
Bertrand Russell distinguishes three main forms of power: Traditional power, naked power and revolutionary power. Traditional power exists through force of habit, such as the power of the King and the Church. Even secular powers try to base their legitimacy on tradition. Claiming to restore the Old Russia, for example, as a call to arms.
But when traditional power no longer works and no new tradition has replaced it, naked power takes over. It is the power of the butcher over the sheep. ‘It requires no appeal to authority, no acquiescence of the subject and is usually military in nature’. Is this what’s happened in Russia?
Russell points to the many horrors of naked power - war, cruelty to children and antisemitism. We need some naked power to fight crime or defensive wars, but naked power should be kept at a minimum by building safeguards such as due process, term limits, division of power, etc.
Revolutionary power is the power of the majority which is in favor of some kind of change, usually through violent means. It is to replace an old ‘creed’ (belief system) with a new one. Communism, Christianity, The Reformation, etc.
Power over Opinion, which Russell considers the most important form of power. Without the power of opinion, soldiers wouldn’t believe in the cause and would stop fighting and laws would be broken because no one would agree on their validity. Most of our Western values are based on the power of opinion (which Russell calls a creed). We are of the opinion that freedom of speech, representative government, and due process, are good values to live by.
Could the rise of populism be explained by the tug of war between the need for stability and security and a desire for personal freedom, albeit in a less stable society?
What is power? Is it good or bad? Or is it neutral, like a hammer when you need to put a nail in a wall? The origin of the word ‘power’ comes from the Latin word ‘potere’, which means ‘to be able’. In French the word ‘pouvoir’, both means ‘power’ and ‘to be able to’.
Let’s face it, without power, nothing would get done. My husband needs muscle power to mow the lawn. I need fine-motor power to move my fingers on the keyboard.
But that kind of power is self-contained, it’s neutral. The problem starts when someone wants to have power over other things or beings. Power over humans, non-humans, land etc. There is a difference between the amount of power you need to have enough to eat and pay for a roof over your head, and the kind of power that has caused problems for our species ever since we grew frontal lobes.
There are people who crave power more than others. I myself want power over my cat. I won’t let her pee wherever she likes and when I was a young mother, I had power over my children. I told them when to go to bed, what time to get up, etc. My husband was a CFO and had decision making power over a small staff. We all have some degree of power, if only to control our own thoughts.
But that kind of power is barely worth the name. It is the power of men that lead nations that we should be talking about. Good and bad leaders alike: Mahatma Gandhi, Hitler, Putin and George Washington, to name a few.
Marx had an economic explanation for what drives human behavior, and Freud said it was all about sex. But according to famous philosopher Bertrand Russell, the pursuit of power is fundamental to understanding human nature. ‘Power is a fundamental concept in Social Science, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics’. (From: Power, A New Social Analysis, by Bertrand Russell)
In other words, power stems from an infinite desire for something that will never be satisfied. ‘The Boa constrictor, when he has had his meal, sleeps until appetite revives’. He is content until he is hungry again. But with Man it is different. ‘Imagination is the goad that forces human beings into restless exertion after their primary needs have been satisfied.’
Powerful men/women want to lead. The good ones among them, also believe that what they can accomplish is also good for society. But for the despot, what they feel they can accomplish may or may not be good for society. They don’t really care.
Power seems to work like a magnet. The more power you have, the more you get. It also attracts others who have no direct power. The Trump base does not have individual power, but together, as a group, they feel powerful. They feel superior to non-group members.
Bertrand Russell distinguishes three main forms of power: Traditional power, naked power and revolutionary power. Traditional power exists through force of habit, such as the power of the King and the Church. Even secular powers try to base their legitimacy on tradition. Claiming to restore the Old Russia, for example, as a call to arms.
But when traditional power no longer works and no new tradition has replaced it, naked power takes over. It is the power of the butcher over the sheep. ‘It requires no appeal to authority, no acquiescence of the subject and is usually military in nature’. Is this what’s happened in Russia?
Russell points to the many horrors of naked power - war, cruelty to children and antisemitism. We need some naked power to fight crime or defensive wars, but naked power should be kept at a minimum by building safeguards such as due process, term limits, division of power, etc.
Revolutionary power is the power of the majority which is in favor of some kind of change, usually through violent means. It is to replace an old ‘creed’ (belief system) with a new one. Communism, Christianity, The Reformation, etc.
Power over Opinion, which Russell considers the most important form of power. Without the power of opinion, soldiers wouldn’t believe in the cause and would stop fighting and laws would be broken because no one would agree on their validity. Most of our Western values are based on the power of opinion (which Russell calls a creed). We are of the opinion that freedom of speech, representative government, and due process, are good values to live by.
Could the rise of populism be explained by the tug of war between the need for stability and security and a desire for personal freedom, albeit in a less stable society?
But there is a risk involved in a doctrine (creed) that everyone subscribes to. If it is out of step with facts, it will eventually fail. Like the Emperor without clothes. And if the doctrine is absurd, the best minds will leave and that society will deteriorate.
The larger question is how to keep power from becoming a destructive force in the world. Many powerful leaders in history have purposely limited their own power, or at least used it for the good of their country and not their own personal gain. Power, Russell says, can only be beneficial if its end goal is not power itself, but to help society and if the negative effects of the means do not overwhelm the positive effects of the end.
Men who allow their love of power to give them a distorted view of the world are to be found in every asylum. Certified lunatics are shut up because of their proneness to violence when their pretensions are questioned; the uncertified variety are given the control of powerful armies, and can inflict death and disaster upon all sane men within their reach. The successful form of insanity proceeds almost entirely from impulses towards power.
