Leadership for many is something we take for granted as it is something we have had and expected every day of our lives. But true leadership does not just happen; it is based on a careful and precious division of authority and responsibility. Political controls are developed by those who are fearful that they will lose control of situations, then either be held accountable or be left without a say in what affects them. Politics then develops from the fear of what we do not know interaction with our attempts to restrain and control the actions of those who would otherwise take actions on their own. To control any situation, these put in charge must have power granted to them to act and for this reason must be held accountable for what actions or inactions are done. Understanding then of power is paramount to the understanding of how political leadership evolves and what it can do and not do.
Let our understanding of power start with John French and Bertram Raven’s concepts of the bases for power. They presented the idea that all power comes from five (5) forms of social psychological developments that exist in all societies or even clichés of friends. These are presented from two sources or branches that develop when called into use by those choosing to take control. The first branch or source is the personal power we all have in our daily lives, this grants us the abilities to be referent (the use of charisma to effect how others see us and our actions) and expert (the use of knowledge and skills to gain from) in our personal lives. The second branch develops the use of our personal power into the positions we hold in life and within the relationships around us. This branch called the positional power has the ability to grant power from others in the form of authority for the legitimate (expectation of rights or freedoms to make demands from), reward (compensation for work or actions done) and coercive (the right to punish another) powers that society extends. I believe that it is important to note some people infer they have the right to punish others even when society has not accepted this. They assume is a personal right then and not one given to them by society or institutional power sources. It is these five sources of power (referent, expert, legitimate, reward, and coercive) that are considered the bases of what we call power and are able to make use of in our societies today.
But there is another side of this as well, for is it well know that unless one has some form of power over another, nothing will get done. Those understanding strategy know this, for them to have others do what they want they must have some means to make them take action. This means must come from sources of power the individual is able to control or obtain through the same social psychological developments allowing authority or motivation over others to gain from. This is the very nature of what Sun Tzu speaks of using the standards acceptable to one’s society to insure its own survival. The same methods that give power to those in positions of authority are then the means that will either force them to take actions or end in their removal from society’s’ authority. The alternative is a total disruption of all the activities such a society stands for, this suicidal attempt would not be accepted to those who are part of such. Therefore if one is attempting to have actions taken by others, it is important to motivate this person based on the bases of your power and their needs to gain action from them.
The problem is that all politics are based on an authorial design of control, where those in the highest positions want all the power. This allows them to take control of actions even when conducted by others based on the bureaucratic system that is built around the political system. But to the wise individual this is a trap, for to lay a trap one also directs or funnels the recipient into the trap by moving the underbrush to meet your needs. The same comes from politics as those in power seek to keep in power by moving the standards to fit only them, leaving the freedoms of others in wonderment. It is this that produces the “Red-Tape” that so many of us have to put up with from governmental offices. One then needs to remember when dealing with such it is meant to keep power safe, it is neither the best possible method nor the only one to motivate the political offices. This method simply exists because those in political power have chosen to gain protection through it. And even if it is used the trap can be overcome, because the very bases of such political power must come from the acceptance by the people or society that has created this “political sea of red-tape.” Those in authority must then also be held to the responsibility of that authority both when it is used and when it is not used.
It therefore falls to the public and the individuals that make up such to insure that all matters of serious nature affecting or accusing their government of abuse is corrected. They hold the final power over all the actions taken through their political offices and it is that final power that must insure or remove the same political offices. As individuals those learning or understanding that such abuses exist own an obligation to that society and to themselves to take action that is in the best regard for all. But as a society it must be decided as to what actions are needed to prevent abuses in the future. Again I warn about the concept of “Red-Tape” as the attempts to prevent these actions will lead to even more in the future. In every bureaucratic system it is the “Red-Tape” that eventually undoes all that was started, even the tyrants have no control over such in the end. As the means to gather power by those in the political system require more control over more activities until they lose total control all-together.
Contact: Michael Pulse MPulse@truth-things.biz author of: The Truth of Things
website: www.truth-things.biz
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