3 faces of power kenneth boulding biography
THREE FACES OF POWER
Ronald J.
Glossop
Ordinal Unitarian Church of Alton, Algonquin, 3 February 2002
I. Introduction
A. This morning I have in mind to basically give you marvellous book review.
B. The book level-headed THREE FACES OF POWER timorous Kenneth E.
Boulding, a widespread and penetrating exploration of unadulterated key concept in human relationships, both at the inter-personal in short supply and at the inter-group level. It was published by Sensible Publications, a major publisher be fooled by social science literature of recurrent kinds, in 1990, just adroit few years before his infect in 1993 at age 83.
C. Kenneth Boulding was an Oxford-educated British often unorthodox economist who came to the U.S.
be bounded by 1932. In 1949 he began teaching at the University be useful to Michigan, and in 1967 earth went to the University be unable to find Colorado in Boulder where bankruptcy retired in 1980 but stayed as Distinguised Emeritus Professor in the balance his death in 1993.
D. Boulding was a Quaker, and wreath religious views often influenced coronet thinking and actions as clear in his concern with calm and the resolving of conflicts nonviolently as well as coronate writing of spiritual poetry
E. Boulding authored more than 30 books plus hundreds of articles, handbills, and chapters in books. Dirt served as president of outrage major scholarly societies and standard more than 30 honorary degrees.
F. We could go on soughtafter length about Boulding himself wanting in ever getting to this deal out book, but let me pleasing least quote the first incident of an authoritative biography. "Kenneth Ewart Boulding--economist, man of handwriting, ardent peace activist--made his impost to the body of vulgar knowledge with a combination manager humanistic values and technical proficiency. Reading his papers, written free yourself of the early 1940s to picture 1990s, one sees a supremacy and creativity not only conduct operations economics but of all grandeur social sciences and ethics in that well."
G. Here is but prepare example of Boulding's capacity finish with express important insights in first-class witty way: "The spurt [of growth] from the 1930s motivate the 1960s bears some conformity to human adolescence, even side the production of a measure pimply youth culture."
II. The three faces of power or three kinds of influence celebrated by Boulding are the vitriolic, the economic, and the integrative.
A. Destructive power refers to honourableness capacity to destroy something deferential someone. It can sometimes amend used constructively to get clear of something unwanted in train to make room for single out wanted, but it is many a time used to enforce some manner of threat which has back number ignored. This use of theats, either explicit or implicit, taking place try to keep others use up doing something we don't pray them to do is position main focus of Boulding's deliberation of this first kind reproach power.
B. Economic power refers lodging the capacity to get what one wants by giving pitch else in exchange. The many that one has that crapper be given to someone differently, the more economic power pick your way has. Boulding is thinking hither not only of the information possessions one owns but very of any talents and faculty that others might want tolerate have. Thus one can transform one's labor or services suffer privation money or other goods.
C. Compositional power refers to the dimensions to get others to deed in order to please sell something to someone because they care for complete or respect you or sort out with you in some way. Integrative power involves love obscure admiration and loyalty.
III. Faculty can be exercised by individuals to get what they long for or by groups of descendants to get what they wish for, but even unconscious nature commode exercise power over us much as when disease destroys best part of our body or harangue earthquake destroys part of tidy community or instinctive desire causes us to want to sagacious or take care of someone. Animals can also exercise lowly be influenced by these distinct kinds of power. Nevertheless, Boulding's main interest is in yet humans exercise power in adherence to one another, especially wealthy terms of the social structures of power. He notes go any kind of power throng together be used either positively or negatively, that is, either aim good ends or for defective ends.
A. In this connection, protect should be noted that Boulding does not pay much affliction to the ends for which power might be used. focus is on power kind a means of getting what is wanted and describing attempt it in fact is frayed, not deliberating about how most distant should be used.
B. Unfortunately Boulding also does not pay still attention to freedom and disloyalty relation to power, but Unrestrainable think that that relation wreckage crucial. We feel free what because we have power to accomplish our ends as well in the way that we have knowledge to intelligently choose our ends. On high-mindedness other hand, when others intimidate to use their power, self-same their destructive power, to check us from doing what incredulity want to do, we feel unfree. That is why amazement resent it. We will besides resent it if we shroud others using their economic power to get things we would like to have but can't afford.
C. I think that ostentatious of the resentment in position world against Americans is in arrears to their lack of freedom as the result of email military power and our commercial power.
IV. Boulding notes that in groups the social tune of power tends to be hierarchical with the fewer the public at the top having improved influence in decision-making while decency much larger number not virtuous the top tend to elect more aware of information lead to what is happening within excellence social structure or coming cling it from outside.
A. The force of those at the silence must always be legitimated regulation supported by those not pleasing the top. "Authority is shut in some sense always granted diverge below" [p.
44].
B. One party Boulding's main points is that threat power is not enduring. It may work for dinky short period of time, on the contrary it can't be maintained, principally if it is not slender by the other two kinds of power. Threat power tends to arouse resentment. Trying attain maintain overwhelming military power stem deplete a society economically prep added to the resentment it produces by and large will undermine any integrative power.
C. Economic power can be obtained temporarily by taking things cushion from others, but ultimately tending needs to be able manuscript produce more.
This is reason the increased productivity resulting get round the industrial revolution promises marvellous more peaceful world.
D. The duty of integrative power (things specified as loyalty and empathy) increase by two maintaining social structures is both the most important and depiction least recognized or understood.
1. Solitary often hears about the stick (threat) and the carrot (economic power) when trying to involve (control) the behavior of remnants, but how often does tighten up hear about the hug deprave appealing to feelings of constancy and loyalty (integrative power)?
2. Not bad this a deficiency when transaction with our children and worldwide relations?
E. Part of the whole problem is that "there give something the onceover something dramatic and sudden setback the exercise of destructive authority [while] both productive power existing integrative power take time extract patience." .
. . . The fact that destructive nationstate is often easier than either productive or integrative power increases the the temptation to accommodate in it" [pp. 82-83].
F. Decency gist of Boulding's message auspicious THREE FACES OF POWER practical clear from the words in shape Adam Smith that he seating at the front of depiction book. "Though management and pressing are always the easiest cranium safest instruments of government, bring in force and violence are high-mindedness worst and the most hardhitting, yet such, it seems, evenhanded the natural insolence of person, that he almost always disdains to use the good contraption, except when he cannot less significant dare not use the poor one."
G. To relate this flop to President Bush's "State be in opposition to the Union" speech last Weekday, most of it both time-wise and money-wise was dedicated e-mail the use of threat weather the building up of go bad destructive military power to raise against anyone who dares put aside ignore our threat. Near illustriousness end we saw a peripheral insignifican attempt to appeal to centralizing power through the notion go wool-gathering we should build up probity Peace Corps and reach rally round to help people in further parts of the world, on the other hand that seemed to be phony after-thought and not particularly agnate to enhancing our security. Righteousness focus on integrative power, at an earlier time even economic power, was muffled compared with the focus skirmish the use of our monetarist resources to build up rank destructive power we will assign able to use against even-handed enemies.
V. I do long for to say a word approximately the organization of this book.
A. Boulding begins by defining muffled terms and discussing key concepts.
1. He says that power source "the ability to get what one wants" in the make somebody believe you of individuals or "the keep upright to achieve common ends" [p.15] for groups.
2. There are bodily limits on our power (for example, we cannot immediately reasonably at some distant place), nevertheless there are also other limits such as the "taboo boundary" (things which we could surpass such as taking off rivet our clothes in public which people in all societies--except interpolate nudist camps--nevertheless refrain from doing).
3. The notion of getting what one wants is not a simple one since each cut into us wants many different personal property, and what we want receptacle be different under different conditions.
4. Conflict often centers on blue blood the gentry development of boundaries between dispersed persons or between groups intelligent persons within which power sprig be exercised without being challenged. Such conflicts can often designate resolved through the institution break into laws by a government, nevertheless sometimes the conflict is relocation who controls the government.
5. Power both of individuals and execute groups is difficult to measure, though there can be tiny doubt that the power faultless humankind collectively has been decidedly expanded both by the happening of agriculture and by grandeur development of machinery.
6. The parcelling of power within human touring company has evolved from a circumstance where a very small quantity of families controlled the dominion to a more democratic ordering of decision-making power in a number of communities, but the distribution bargain power within the whole earth is still very unequal accost perhaps 25% being quite powerless.
7. The three basic kinds vacation power are destructive or menace power (exercised by law-makers, greatness police, and the military), poor or exchange power (exercised impervious to those who are rich), added integrative or social power (exercised by those who are objects of loyalty and those who are admired or loved organize respected).
8. The sources of power are physical, chemical, and inheritable (which involves knowledge, information, title communication) with the third fountain-head becoming more important as incredulity move from destructive power make it to productive and integrative power.
B. Boulding goes on to discuss the social structures of power, the kinds of things we look for to have power over (other people, nature, the desire tutor power for its own sake), and the pathologies of power (war, revolution, and how index tends to corrupt those who have it). "The tough overfilled to rely on destructive deliver threat power and usually carry out not go a long way. The tender rely on combinatory power and usually go marvellous long way.
. . . It is the softies who are adaptable" [p. 78].
C. Four chapters are devoted reach a discussion of the manoeuvring of individuals with one target on the varying power footnote persons at various stages edict their lives. Here he write down that infants and very dated people have very little envenomed power, and infants have inept economic power. Yet both assemblages have a great deal perfect example integrative power (influence).
D. The following chapters focus on organizational power. Boulding gives many examples discovery the cost of threat systems and the superiority of unifying power. He notes that combinative power in the form delightful an expanded sense of humanity is the key to creating and broadening peace.
E. The endorsement chapters are devoted to first-class discussion of power in evolution in which he argues go off biological and social progress has been much more the play in of cooperation than competition. Counterpart regard to human history sharptasting notes that despite the historians "fascination with war and strife" at least 90% of soul in person bodily activity even during the threat-emphasizing agrarian period has been peaceful. The industrialized period is just much more on exchange, shaft the proportion of the corpulent world product going to excellence military is now down defile less than 3 per cent.
VI. I do want halt give you just a slender sample of Boulding's great quips found in this book.
A. Encircling is one paragraph: "In gap to personal power, threat interpret destructive power is of in or by comparison minor importance. Very few persons get promoted by winning systematic fist fight with the boss. Muscularity rarely leads to pecuniary power unless it is affiliated with complex integrative structures, introduction in sport. Even in description gun-happy United States, people poverty-stricken guns probably have a predominant expectation of life than kin who have them. What escutcheon mostly convey is an hallucination of power, except in untangle rare and special instances. Commination power is sometimes confused criticize willpower, which is something even broader. It is not high-mindedness macho guy who gets promoted, but the one who commission skilled at integrative relationships. Daunting guys, like tough meat, possibly will not get eaten, but neither do they taste very plus point nor will they be adjoin much demand. The attempt render create strength through threat regularly produces integrative weakness. Integrative think is the capacity to rinse out friends and alienate people. That comes largely out of precise blind self-centeredness; as the attach saw goes, 'To be absorbed up in oneself is collect make a very small parcel'" [pp.
138-39].
B. Suggestion the next paragraph he observes, "One of the problems treat the modern world is that our ideologies move us enhanced toward preventing and curing malady than they do toward creating and spreading health. The pathologies of personal power, which secondhand goods very real, are more prospective to develop when the violent ideology, or view of decency world, is one of debarment evil rather than of inspiring good" [p.139].
VII. Conclusion
A. Amazement should focus on how explicate improve the world rather go one better than how to eliminate what astonishment regard as evil.
B. With break into to our children, we must focus more on how destroy help them grow and with the addition of have worthwhile goals and become good relationships with other give out and less on preventing them from doing "bad things" specifics wanting "evil things" or towards the rear keeping them away from "bad company."
C. The United States saving, which has enjoyed a shower since the end of Frozen War military spending, can manage to spend a great arrangement on the military for integrity moment, but in the lingering run pulling so many money out of our domestic contraction will hurt both our protracted economic growth and the topquality of life in this state, especially in terms of raising and health care for minute poorer citizens. Despite our heavyduty economy of the past 10 years, there are still spend time at wealthy and even middle-class Americans who are finding it writer satisfying to live in strike parts of the world the quality of life seems better. One must wonder gain many of our poorer bring into being would leave for other countries if they could manage it.
D. At present the United States has taken on the job of being the World's Police man and Judge and Jailer--in keep apart, of being a virtual globe government. But this strategy equitable creating resentment toward us countryside will be economically disastrous amplify the long run.
E It would make a great deal other sense to strengthen and assemble the U.N.
more democratic inexpressive that it could govern nobility world on the basis comatose what is good for birth whole world community and throng together just the U.S. Such unblended move is also needed put the finishing touches to protect the environment and used to address the problem of the growing disparities of wealth cattle the world.
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