Ruizhi Lin -Week 4 - Types of Power
Throughout
history, the consolidation of power has always been a major driving force in
determining the structure of society and the world. As there are so many forms
of power, there is no exact agreed-upon definition. One of the clearest ways to
define power is by drawing a line with force, limiting the definition of power
to the ability of a person to influence others.
Generally
speaking, many experts categorize power into five different groups.
Coercive
power is the most negative type, involving threatening others to achieve goals.
In the business world, this usually takes the form of firing workers, demoting
people, etc to pressure others to listen to the one with authority
Reward
power is the usage of benefits to encourage others to work harder, manifesting
as a positive form of influence. However, this type of power is rather weak as
good promises are rather hard to come by.
Legitimate
power is derived from a position in society, the economy, or in politics. This
form of authority, although it could be extremely powerful, is limited by time
and scope of power. However, the time a person holds the position could be used
to influence others.
Expert
Power is a type of power that is derived from one’s knowledge and skills,
especially when rare or of high demand. This type of power can also influence
people and could be used to garner a following.
Lastly,
referent power is a type of power used by those that have many followers. It is
considered one of the most powerful types of power as it is not limited by any
of the constraints previously mentioned.
Power
can have many definitions as shown and have many usages. Usually the most
influential people in history used a blend of all 5 types of the powers
mentioned.
Comments
I really liked reading your post and thought it was very interesting. Defining the different ways a person can hold power is important because it allows us to have a deeper understanding of society. However, I believe that it is important to remember that these labels aren’t perfect. For example, though coercive power is dangerous, it is not always as dangerous as referent power. People with referent power often have people who support them blindly, which can be very dangerous since it allows those in power to make large decisions without any strong opposition. Personally, I believe that those with referent power can be the most dangerous. How about you?
I did not know this was a thing, so I'm happy that you shared it with us. I agree with how referent power is the strongest; however it can be lost with wrong actions. It is common to see celebrities fall from fame after doing something wrong and lose all of their influence. After this, I think legitimate power is the strongest, because people's position in society often dictates the amount of power they have over others. It is extremely rare to see someone who was poor have more power than someone who was born rich. Expert power is only strong over the people who need the knowledge, so the reach of the power isn't as strong. I think coercive power is stronger than reward power, because with coercive power, one is stronger than the other, and this imbalance of power makes one side stronger.
That was a very informational blog! I was able to make connections with several people and scenarios with the five types of powers you mentioned. For instance, governments silencing the press is a type of coercive power. Reward power is utilized on a smaller scale with operational conditioning; the respect kids give to their parents who reward them with a good physiological state of being. Legitimate power, like the power that the president holds. Expert power just reminds me of ethos or the appeal to credibility and trustworthiness. Referent power reminds me of social media influencers, who have a massive following that mostly act on their own. It’s crazy how much good or bad a fandom can do without their idol directly telling them what to do.
-Angel
I did not know that there were so many different types of power. I think that power is a really interesting concept. To me, power is basically like an honor system. There is literally only power to something where other people believe to treat something as if it was worthy of respect and recognition. For example, take King Henry the Eighth of Great Britain. Back then, people highly revered him because of his “noble blood.” Now we come to know him as a fifty womanizer who executed a third of his wives and married his brother’s wife. Power literally comes from peoples’ conceptions of you. What do you think?
I didn't know that there was actually these broad categories that specified different levels of power. Many I don't realize but I have seen many times expressed differently like you said. I feel like referent power or gaining followers is a traditional one that many use today especially comment bots. They usually try to bribe for followers stating for you to follow them so they can gain their significance. Many sometimes go ridiculously pass the original creator that has not yet been verified by the platform thus crushing and capping over the original while making many think that the "botted" account is the real one.
I found your blog post about the five different hierarchies of power very interesting. Coercive power reminds me of some of the leaders in history, such as Hitler or Mussolini, that used their own police force to kill or hurt anyone who opposed them. This makes me wonder why coercive power is not one of the more powerful types of power? Hitler and Mussolini both used coercive power and became one of the most feared leaders globally, holding enough power to start WWII which cost millions of lives. I also found referent power very relatable to our society nowadays, where many celebrities or social media influencers can get away with not wearing a mask or doing something wrong due to their position and influence on millions of followers and viewers.
Sincerely,
Faith Tong
I found your blog really interesting and I liked how you had an organized structure throughout your blog. This is probably one of the few blogs I have seen that the picture is a reference for the writing. The use of different paragraphs also makes it easier for me to understand the content you are trying to tell us. With this diagram of power I realized that as someone has more power, the more negative they become.
Sincerely,
Mrinmayee
I never really realized how there were so many types of power and their hierarchies. Power just seems like another system that just proves who is better than who. And of course, power is really just the way people are able to control others and prove their strengths socially.