Topic > Overview of the three dimensions of power

Power is the ability to make others do something they otherwise could not do; this may go against their own interests. Through the use of threats, rewards, and manipulation, power clearly exists whenever there are social relationships. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first of the three dimensions of power is decision-making or the “open” face. This alludes to the way in which control over decision making is “open,” direct, and obvious to a much larger portion of the public. In a modern democratic society, individuals realize that they can participate in the decision-making process by voting, running for office, joining a political party, joining a pressure group, signing a petition. Power rests with the public, who choose, through voting, who should control it. An example of this would be the Marriage of Same Sex Couples Act 2013 which had a few readings in Parliament, was decided and scrutinized by committees and pressure groups before being passed into law. It tends to be argued that this 'open face' of intensity is the simplest and most popular-based one, as should be obvious to a much larger part of the public. as a result, most of the public recognizes the choice due to the legal nature of the cycle. However, some experts argue that there is still an imbalance of intensity as pressure meetings are held and important people are more ready to make their point heard than others. For example, the heavyweight group Stonewall had the opportunity to present their defense directly to MPs in a parliamentary council, which gave them a more significant impact on the dynamic cycle. It is therefore clear that force is not totally open, even in a majority-ruled government, as some influential groups are more able to impact policy than others. The second face of power identified by Luke was "no decision". Faced with what is the power to prevent, to make certain decisions or to discuss particular policies, power therefore does not only consist in imposing decisions on people, but in setting the political agenda itself. For example, the Prime Minister holds nine democratic powers, this can be demonstrated by the use of poropagation, the Prime Minister has prorogued parliament for the longest period in decades, the reasoning behind it can be debated, however theorists believe that did so to secure his political agenda of achieving a no-deal Brexit. This is a clear example of how governments and prime ministers are an elite group in society, making decisions for everyone, trying to limit the involvement of parliamentarians. The government making decisions for the public can save a lot of time and is sometimes in the public's interest, but sometimes it does so to strengthen the status of the elite group. The third aspect of power identified by Luke was 'shaping desire' in In his book he argues that while it is no longer sufficient to view power as elitist, he argues that there is an increasingly need to look at the ways in which people can exercise power over others through "influence" or by shaping or determining their own desires, for For example, Cambridge Analytica used various ways to influence the public to vote for its clients, Cambridge Analytica used social media and targeted ads to influence the public, governments must combat this as it poses a threat to democracy. Please note: this is just a sample. Get one now.