Demp

A-1  

To understand the three dimensions of power it is important to understand what power is. Power is the capacity to bring about some outcome, it can be used to effect changes or to prevent them from occurring. Power is a key sociological concept with several different meanings and considerable disagreement surrounding them. The most common definition comes from Max Weber, who defined it as the ability to control others, events, or resources; to make happen what one wants to happen in spite of obstacles, resistance, or opposition.

In contrast, Karl Marx used the concept of power in relation to social classes and social systems rather than individuals. He argued that power rests in a social class’s position in the relations of production.  Power can be legitimate or illegitimate depending on the different social contexts, for example bullying at school is an illegitimate exercise of power whereas an employer would be exercising legitimate power.

The first dimension of power describes the open (visible) conflict between two parties, where if party A is dominant, party B is not causing A to prevail over B. This is the most visible type of power. Some examples of this dimension of power is seen between a landlord and a tenant, police and protesters or employers and employees. This dimension of power can be shifted depending on who has more power, the balance of power can be shifted by social movements or riots. This dimension is visible to the power holder as well as the subordinate party.

The second dimension of power describes a situation where A with the power prevents subordinate B from being exposed to reasons or having an opportunity to question A’s authority which could challenge A’s power. The way party A remains in absolute power is by the power of agenda setting. A decides what stories or events must B be exposed to and a lot of discussion relating to A’s power is done without B’s knowledge. A typical example of this is the back door discussion which happens before topics are discussed in the different House’s regarding the various laws and rules which would be aired to the public. The result is that the public’s attention is not brought to important topics like poverty, racism and social welfare. This dimension of power is not as visible as the first dimension. This dimension is not visible to the subordinate party but is visible to the power holder.