Introduction
Power is defined in a number of ways; among the multiple ways of expressing it, we can say that Power signifies the possession of control or command over others (Sykes, 2006). There have been many sociologists who have expressed their views on power; Max Weber and Foucault, though similar in a few ways, do have their own views on power.
Weber’s view of Power
Weber feels that within a social relationship an actor will be in a position to act without resistance. This Power is subjective to the amount an actor has and is contingent upon how much power the person has relative to others within the social relationship. Weber further stipulates power as coercive and authoritative (charismatic, traditional and legal and/or rational). The former states that people are forced to do as they are told under threat of punishment and in the latter power is displayed as people obey because of the personal qualities of the person doing the telling (a religious leader) or those who exercise authority do so because they continue a tradition and support the preservation and continuation of existing values and social ties (a political leader) and the third form that exists in our society and is sometimes referred-to as “bureaucratic” power since it is based upon the status of an individual’s position in a social hierarchy, rather than the individual per se. To put it very succinctly, Weber opines that power exists where an individual or a group is able to get another person or a group to do what they want.
Foucault’s view of Power
Foucault’s view of power could at first be misconstrued as being the same as Weber’s; an in-depth study will reveal that this is not so. He is of the view that when a situation arises in a relationship, where the action (or the inaction) of a person affects another person’s actions, then ‘power’ is felt/exercised. Therefore, power cannot actually belong to a person or a group of people; it exists on its own and moves in and around society, in different forms of course. Power for Foucault is more to do with procedures and forms rather than a quality exhibited or possessed by one or more individuals.
Where Weber was functionalist in his perspective, Foucault was more of a structuralist in his approach to the idea of power. Where Weber opined that power was in the hands of some person or persons, Foucault believed that power was more of an entity.
It has been discussed by students of sociology that Weber’s views of power did influence the thoughts of Foucault, but it would be wrong to believe that the latter’s views critiqued that of the former. To put it all in a nutshell, the idea of ‘power over’ (as in the view of Weber) is contrasted with the idea of ‘power to’ (as in the view of Foucault) in the study of power as sociological concept.
Whatever may be the views of these two thinkers, there is no doubt that the context and/or circumstances in which power is exhibited or exercised need to be studied exhaustively, before attempting an explanation.
References
- Huges, G. & Fergusson, R. (eds) 2004, Ordering lives: family, work and welfare, Routledge & The Open University, London.
- Skykes, S. 2006, Power and Christian Theology, Continuum, New York.