Definition Of “Power” Essay, Research Paper

Definition of “Power”

Power is many things. It is the ability to control people in their

sayings and/or actions. It is the ability to get whatever you want. Power is a

necessary component in any society, otherwise all pandemonium would break loose;

leaders must be established. But, when taken to an extreme, power is not good,

and pandemonium will break loose.

As Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts

absolutely.” A good example of this is Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany. He

believed he could not be stopped and that rules did not apply to him. By being

given absolute power, he corrupted the government. No attempt was made to stop

this by the Germans, because of the control he had. People were either scared

to stop this, or were brainwashed into believing it. Finally the U.S. had to

step in and try to stop Hitler, and World War II broke out.

But power is not all bad though. As was stated earlier, it is necessary

in any group of people, and there will be struggle to achieve it–be it a

country, a business, or a sports team. Athletics is a good example of where

there is a constant power struggle. In every league, every player wants control.

They want what they think should happen (during games), to happen. Recently,

in the NBA, Dennis Rodman took this struggle to an extreme. In disagreement with

an official’s call, Rodman head-butted the official, and through a temper-

tantrum on his way off the court. Quite obviously, this is bad. Every player

in the league agrees to the rules set by the NBA from the beginning. The rules

are made to keep control, and the officials have power to enforce these rules.

If there were no regulations, players would be doing whatever they wanted

whenever they wanted. If Rodman’s antics would have taken place somewhere other

than a basketball court he probably would be in trouble with the law. If he

were to argue with a police officer, for example, the same way he did with the

referee, he probably would be put in jail or at very least heavily fined. Well,

the NBA is not going to put anyone in jail for this, but they did fine him and

suspend him for a couple of games. Basically Rodman is as bad as any street

bully who picks on or beats up little kids. Only he does it on a basketball

court, so generally it is considered “part of the game.” In nine out of ten

cases, a fine is levied, and all is forgotten.

There will always be people, like Rodman, trying to have power over a

situation when they can’t. Any criminal is trying to do exactly that. They are

trying to make their own rules. When caught for this, they’re punished; they

are punished by people who have power.

Power is obtained in a couple ways. You can earn it and it can be given

to you. But power isn’t necessarily a trait a person has until they know

somebody who does. For example, if a person was good friends with someone who

is in a position of power, say their boss, and disliked a co-worker of theirs,

they possibly could get something bad to happen to the co-worker, like more work

or longer hours. Power wasn’t had in a situation like this until someone known

had it.

While power is something that can be good or bad, liked or disliked, one

thing is for sure: it is constantly being put to use to control people. And

when there is no power, there is no organization and everything is bedlam. So

every person is in one way or another involved with power. Some have it, but

all must abide by it or reap the repercussions.