Power simply means a force that causes change in a given situation. Thereafter, it acquires a character of its own depending on the situation and source it came from. Power in physics is directly computed as energy and quantified in terms of voltage and wattage while in mathematics it means a number that multiplies many times over e.g. 10³ and other denominations. But, nowhere is power as pervasive as it is in politics where the maxim, ‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ held true since the earliest days of recorded history when man exercised power for the first time.
Power transcends the individual
According to Michel Foucault, the post modern philosopher from France, power is a pyramidal superstructure that transcends individuals and is characterized by a solid micro level base from where it works its way right up to the pinnacle. This definition is in tune with the ideal structure of the state where power depends on the masses at the bottom of the social pyramid although cynics would argue that power actually flows from the bullet of the gun rather than the ballot of the voter. This implies that it flows top down. Those at the top are said to be addicted to power and there are scores of instances to prove that as people go up the pyramid and get closer to the pinnacle, they sense the strength of power and the innate possibilities that it presents which in most cases is difficult to resist for an ordinary individual.
Another remarkable truth that comes out of this analogy on power is that it invariably weighs down on those at the bottom that support this superstructure. Therefore, it is the very nature of the phenomenon that those at the very bottom of the pyramid would be worst off as is exemplified in the law of the jungle where only the fittest survive. This applies equally to those at or near the pinnacle as well as those further down and closer to the base. Here is an analogy: when the sun rises in African wilderness, a gazelle wakes up and remembers that it will have to outpace the fastest lion to see the next sunrise; in another part of the wilderness, a lion wakes up and remembers that it will have to outpace the slowest gazelle to see the next sunrise.
Power is like electricity; always searching for a lesser resistance to travel towards
In the analogy of the African wilderness it was power as an all-encompassing level playing field where only the fittest survive. Yet, the lion which is at the pinnacle of the jungle pyramid uses its immense power to hunt down the slowest gazelle, not the fastest. Why won’t it compete with the fastest gazelle on speed if not for anything, at least to prove that it is the king of the jungle? The very nature of power is that it is like electricity; always searching for a lesser resistance to travel towards. It is not clear why this is so but the truth is when two or more equal forces clash or run against each other, the impact is usually devastating. Does that mean power is naturally conditioned to try and avoid a clash of equal forces?
While it could be true that power is like electricity and moves in a direction of least resistance, it is no less true that electricity itself is produced when two equal or identical forces clash. When we apply this analogy to understand power play among humans it reveals some interesting parallels. In the run up to the climax of World War II, the two colossal forces of Germany and the Soviet Union were set to go at each other and when they did, the world saw a clash never witnessed before whether in terms of scale or intensity. Germany deployed close to ten times the number of armored divisions in its invasion of the Soviet Union as compared to its deployment in the western sector. The Soviet Union marshaled its vast resources in men and material to line up a juggernaut of a force that kept coming back at the German forces.
The epic clash that eventually decided which force would go down was the battle of Stalingrad where the Soviets dug their heels to break the German siege and turn the tide of the war. Both sides knew that the outcome in Stalingrad would turn the tide of the war and when the Soviets broke the German siege power shifted toward the Soviet Union. As the German led Axis weakened, the electricity effect took over with the Soviet forces overwhelming the Germans, driving them right into Berlin where the final nail in the German coffin was hammered in. It is well-known that all the areas under German occupation that the Soviet Union overwhelmed went under communist rule. For the next four decades these countries in Eastern Europe went behind the Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union. It was raw power play.
The unseen effects of power
According to Foucault, power has an all-encompassing effect on individuals who move up the pyramid of power and can turn individuals around in unseen and amazing ways. If we consider the case of Adolf Hitler, there are enough resources to prove that his transformation of megalomaniac proportions had astounded those who knew him in his younger days. For instance, the principal of the art college in Vienna regretted his decision to disqualify Hitler on the basis of his evaluation; he seemed to be suggesting that if he had the hindsight of what this innocuous-looking young man was going to become, he would have gladly admitted him into his art college from where Hitler would have graduated as an artist and acquired a different set of values.
Hitler’s commanding officer during his tenure in the German army observed that he was among his most obedient subordinates and was known to stay clear of trouble as he mostly kept to himself. What could have turned such an individual into one of the most destructive fiends known to history? Of course, it was power but why did it have such an electrifying effect on Hitler of all people given his amiable nature as testified by authentic sources. Going further back into his early life, much of which was spent in poverty, we know that Hitler was a caring son to his ailing mother and occasionally wept at his helplessness to reduce her suffering.
The kind of steely and uncompromising determination that Hitler showed in acquiring power, much later, was nowhere in sight when he was disqualified by the art college. Didn’t he want to be an artist as desperately as he wanted to be the Fuhrer? He was known to be a man of few words, who kept to himself for the most part and seemed content with life. But he came into his elements as one of the most compelling orators of all time, swaying an entire nation to his whims and fancies, when he sensed power. It appears the electric effect of power had engulfed Adolf Hitler so completely that it not just transformed him 360° but also caused fundamental changes in his basic nature. The saga of this devil of a man is perhaps one of the most pertinent examples of the unseen effects of power.
The harmonics of power
As Foucault explained, individuals or groups of individuals up against forces that question their very existence on the basis of a specific line of reasoning, often take recourse to the same line of reasoning adjusted to suit their needs, and turn the table on their tormentors. In this regard, Nelson Mandela, the native South African leader who led his people’s freedom struggle, presents a good example. He turned the tables on the very forces that questioned the right of the native people of South Africa to be free from the bondage of the inhuman and barbaric system of apartheid or legally sanctioned segregation of races where the natives of the land got the worst deal.
Mandela had the stature to take on the centuries old White supremacist regime of South Africa on even terms albeit on a moral high ground rather than brute military power although in the long term every option was on the table. Just as the White supremacist regime had tried to justify its actions by pointing out to native South Africans that they were generations away from being in a position to qualify as equal citizens in their own country, Mandela told the White rulers of South Africa that their perceptions didn’t matter both among the silent majority within the country as well as the world at large. South Africa was getting increasingly isolated globally and the economy was becoming very difficult to manage.
The psychological effects of being oppressed
It was not long before the White supremacists went down and Mandela took over as the first president of free South Africa. It is notable that Mandela did not allow the situation to get out of hand even during the euphoria of freedom won after centuries of struggle through blood and sweat. He had a difficult job of controlling the passion of large sections of his fellow native South Africans who were brimming over with the ferment of ages-old retribution and successfully prevented any such outpouring of emotions to get out of hand. It was the measure of the man who had endured unlawful and indiscriminate imprisonment under the White supremacist rule and yet had the largeness of heart to pardon his tormentors and accept them as equal citizens of his liberated homeland.
Not many oppressed folks could be as generous as Mandela was, and within Africa there were examples of reversed oppression of White minorities by Black majorities in the newly independent countries of Zimbabwe and Kenya. In case of Mandela, power did not corrupt him and neither did he vie for absolute power. Was he an exception? It is quite likely because the electric effect did not work on him. How did Mandela sense power then? He must have sensed it long back even as he was cooling his heels in prison and his greatness must have given him the vision of freedom as a foregone conclusion in the foreseeable future. In other words, Mandela must have had the measure of the White supremacist regime in the humbling environs of imprisonment.
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