power, control and resistance

what is power (Wilson, 2018: 163)

‘the ability to get others to do what you want them to do, even if this is against their will, or to get them to do something they would not otherwise do’

what is authority (Wilson, 2018: 163)

when B regards his or her own compliance (and corresponding disciplinary sanctions) as right and legitimate

what is resistance (Wilson, 2018: 163)

B’s capacity to challenge and/or undermine A’s power and authority

what is the theory of Karl Marx for power

marx argued that the relations of production mean that work within capitalist societies is shaped by structured antagonisms (the two main classes have different ‘interests’).

He argued that bourgeois power is sustained through ideology and the creation of a ‘false consciousness’.

karl marx believed under capitalism, workers become alienated from what?

that capitalism’s dependence on mass production would result in class consciousness

what did max weber argued about for theory of power

He argued that social position was not purely economically determined, but was shaped by 3 inter-related factors

1)Class (socio-economic group)

2)Status (social status, honour or esteem)

3)Party (political power – the ability to exercise power or ‘agency’).

what are the two aspects to Foucault’s theory of power

• disciplinary power

• power in/as resistance