Social Resources

Power

Articles/Op-eds

  • The Ultimate Power: Seeing 'Em Jump, By Tom Wolfe

  • Core Concept: Power, Eric Fretz. “Human beings have struggled with the reality of power for a very long time... Sometimes it is about our ability (or inability) to negotiate, cut deals and work with people who are different than ourselves.”

  • The Fear of Demographic Eclipse. “Throughout the Trump era, in his lengthy, weekly New York Times column on politics, demographics, and inequality, Thomas Edsall has analyzed the intersection of race and class and how it has impacted Trump’s ability to generate support for his activities…. After the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, his Jan. 13, 2021 column, “White Riot,” was particularly clear and insightful.”

  • Plutocracy is a Myth: The System is Us. “The American people hold the power. The wealthy do not rule. They do not direct, exercise control, or determine what happens. When a supermajority of Americans unite and act forcefully, they persuade elected officials to respect the will of the people. But unified action rarely happens. Fragmentation and passivity allow the rich and powerful to get what they want.”

  • Reflections on Social Dynamics. “Powerful forces have been reducing human beings to disposable tools. People compete ever more fiercely in an unpredictable world. “Rugged individuals” deny their dependence on others. Driven by economic insecurities and resentments, these forces threaten to tear the world apart. Today’s America has become increasingly shallow, selfish, dehumanized, and impersonal.

    Co-equal relationships are not the norm. Authority figures — both recognized and self-appointed — parent, teach, boss, supervise, instruct, direct, lead, train, coach, dominate, co-opt, imprison, punish, coerce, persuade, help, approve, praise, defeat, control, condescend, demonize, scapegoat, manipulate, recruit, exploit, enslave, abuse, dehumanize, guide, patronize, infantilize, lecture, mansplain, and heal. Most of these hierarchical relationships are more oppressive than they need to be.”

Books