The nineteenth revolution

[Empowerment; expressions of power; solutions to the problems of power; power as a force for good]

Empowerment: A process of being stronger and more vocal as to who you are and what you want. An ability to express your own identity and to tell your story yourself. Standing up for your right to self-govern as well as the rights of your fellow citizens to be autonomous. Power that we can tap into (as it is already inside us). Fighting the tyranny of power from others.

Self-control: The ability to regulate ourselves, our emotions, our thought processes, and take responsibility for our own actions. The acknowledgement that in satisfying our needs, urges, desires and impulses there are consequences that can affect the well-being of ourselves and others. A recognition that we all have choices to make as to how we respond to our internal messages.

Pro-social behaviour: Acting in a way that helps other people within your community. This could include notions of sharing, caring and cooperation.
Social change: A change in the structure of society; an acknowledgment that present systems inhibit progressive ideas and work to support a small minority of privileged people rather than the population as a whole. Social change would affect every single institute, from education to the economy, in order to steer society in a different direction.

Freedom: The right or the power to be who you truly are, to speak openly, to think the way you want.

Free will: The ability to think, feel and act without coercion or restriction. Other words to describe this could be independent, autonomous, self-sufficient.

Self-determination: The power to shape your own life.

Expressions of power: One quick and easy way to summarise different types of power is to bracket them into four areas: power over, power to, power with and power within.

Power over: This includes such ideas as: force, coercion, discrimination, corruption, abuse, punishment, domination, victimisation, injustice, hierarchical inequalities. Decisions that are made about you, without you having a say in the process. Preventing others from having power or agency. ‘Power over’ can apply to personal relationships as much as it can to politics. As ‘power over’ exists in some form in most countries, the act of oppression is often viewed as acceptable or inevitable.

Thankfully there are solutions to this limited and limiting approach to power.

Power to: This is about the potential that everyone has to do something. The power to make a difference. The power to change your environment, to shape your own world. When you add your own individual ‘power to’ together with other people’s ‘power to,’ you get ‘power with’…

Power with: This is about the power of collaborations, finding solutions, ending conflicts, counselling, solidarity, unity, coalitions, consensus politics, meaningful participation, voluntary participation. All of these things can be achieved through people coming together to achieve or strive for a shared and common goal.

Power within: This expression of power recognises the strengths and abilities of each individual. The power to change themselves. The power to heal and recover. The power to progress, grow and develop. This power is about having a voice, self-worth, self-awareness and having a sense of hope. All of these characteristics can occur when a person is on their own or when they’re in a group situation.

Humanism: A perspective that sees and values each person as an individual; demonstrating qualities such as love, compassion, forgiveness, harmony; having a concern for others.

And now here are some quotes for us to contemplate.

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.”
Ursula Le Guin

“Never depend upon institutions or government to solve any problem. All social movements are founded by, guided by, motivated and seen through by the passion of individuals.”
Margaret Mead

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead

“We are the ones we have been waiting for.”
June Jordan

In 1870 Frederick Douglass wrote the words: “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” Knowing how hard it is to prise back power once it has been given away, perhaps one solution to this problem is to not give it away in the first place. This would require people to be up to speed on all forms of power and to be vigilant and guarded against others attempting to make a power grab. Another answer to this dilemma could come from setting up a structure as a flat hierarchy and beginning life with all participants as equals.

Thomas Jefferson, the third American president, was aware of this problem when he said: “The way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one but to divide it among the many.” If we were to divide and sub-divide power over and over again until each person and each voice mattered, could we help to prevent abuses of power?

In 1848 Charles Darwin wrote an influential book called On the Origin of Species. Certain elements of this volume were taken to justify the behaviours within capitalist society, particularly the belief that competition was natural and innate and the driving force of humanity. Henry Spencer’s phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ is a common refrain.

Meanwhile, in 1900 Peter Kropotkin also wrote an influential book called Mutual Aid.
His was the opposite view to social Darwinism, seeing competition as an artificial construct. Instead, he said that cooperation and sociability are found in nature and make for the harmonious grouping of animals. He saw that in times of plenty there is a collective aim of fighting against harsh environments and unfavourable conditions. It’s only when resources are scarce that there is competition.

Mutual aid is about people coming together to support each other and in doing so avoiding the need to control, oppress, create hierarchies or inequalities. Within these networks people take responsibility for their own actions as well as taking responsibility for each other’s care and well-being. This model is open to everyone, as long as the values of equality and freedom are adhered to.

Hannah Arendt saw power in unity, in people coming together to form a structure and in binding themselves together. She saw power as a communication rather than control, as a way of obtaining freedom, of making things happen. She also saw power as only lasting as long as a group of people stay together. Once they leave, there’s no power within each individual member.

These two closely related revolutions are included to make us aware that power exists within each and every grouping of people. They show us what harm it can do and how we have choices in how we use our power – whether we surrender it to others or use it to challenge existing power structures. Whether we combine together with others to share power for the good of all. What do you think?