Who has the power

[Spongebob]

I want to open a discussion about power.  Power will always exist in any society.  It's like energy; it cannot be created or destroyed; it only changes form.  So in the US at one time power was largely held by a lot of non-governmental, mostly criminal, groups.  Most of those have been either destroyed or reduced in power enough that they no longer influence society as much.  But that power shifted to the government, who put them down.  And many people seem to resent this, at least right wingers do.  Why is that?  Or is my idea of power just flawed completely?