Noel
Obtaining Power
We all aim for power but do we really know what power is as to have power one must clearly know what one wishes to obtain. Power can also be defined as the ability to make, implement and if necessary enforce decisions, hence controlling events. Power has been defined in three ways or rather it is made up of three things. This consists of authority, coercion and influence. Authority means that people believe that a person or thing has the right to rule over them. Once again there are three types of authority. These types of authority consist of legal authority, traditional authority and charismatic authority. I will give examples of each. Legal authority is the type of authority that is invested in a type of office which people will occupy for a while and then leave. An example is that of a British Prime minister. Once he is elected by his party he will rule the country for an amount of time and then leave, leaving the position of Prime minister absent for someone else. Traditional authority on the other hand is the authority that is in place due to tradition. An example is the authority of parents over their children or of a monarch. They rule because their predecessor did so. Charismatic authority on the other hand is authority that is invested in a person by the people. An example of charismatic authority could be Nelson Mandela who, while holding no public office or traditional post, wielded a mighty influence over a great many black South Africans.
The other two elements of power clearly have a large overlap with authority although there are some distinctions. Coercion is basically the use of force, of which I have identified two types. This consists of direct and indirect force. An example of direct force is perhaps when Government is able to lock up a person or sentence him/her to death. Whereas an example of indirect force is a government's ability to take away a person's welfare benefits if they commit a crime.
Influence can be seen as the most indirect form of power. It can be seen as your power to persuade someone to do something that they would not otherwise do, the ability to effect someone or something's decisions You see there are many types of power and many ways to gain power
Topic: On obtaining power#2
How then are we to achieve this power? One may think that the type of power that I imply can come only through a revolution. Perhaps revolution does indeed make it easier for power to be gained. The turmoil, destruction and confusion, which are apparent within a revolutionary time, can be great benefiting factors. However, do not rely upon this. Revolutions, while it is indeed men that are the spark and the gunpowder, still require certain historical conditions to be in place. Are we then to rely upon the vague hope that we may be lucky enough to live in a place during a revolution? No.
By all means support revolutions if they do occur but do not put all your hope in them. For example, in Britain especially a revolution will in my opinion never happen. The people are too passive, too uncaring as well as too satisfied. The people of the western world have never had it so good I hear men say. These people never stop to realize or care how much better things could be The way, in a state like Britain, to achieve powers are many despite the people's passiveness.
You must simply (this is so for more or less any situation) trust on no one especially the sheep. There is knowledge of course. But does this translate directly into power? No. I know of some highly educated and knowledgeable people who are poor and powerless in comparison. On the other hand I know of many who are clearly less wise yet have considerably more power. This leads on to the importance of actions. Think, learn, and teach by all means. But never forget to translate your knowledge into action.
Take risks. Be entrepreneurial in what you do. Of course balance is called for when taking risks. Be mindful so as, while not letting prudence hold you back, you neither jump before you look.
You must not blind yourself in the light. You must know that in today's world economic power is one of the most important. Gain economic power. In today's world economic power can with a little knowledge be translated directly into political power. How you do this is of course up to you and there is no single correct way for doing this. Then gain political power. It is largely through politics that history is made. To govern a country or empire is perhaps the most powerful empowering thing. The most powerful men have, with a few exceptions, always been the ones that have directed countries. In the future perhaps there will be men with more power. Perhaps they will be us.
Noel Blackmane