(January 18, 2022 at 12:43 pm)tackattack Wrote:(January 17, 2022 at 4:26 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote: If we define "power" as "the ability to do something, acquire something, or affect the world," then I think we have to say that whoever has money has power. The federal gov't and capitalist classes have the power using this metric. Corporate institutions also have a great deal of power. The Catholic Church too; they not only have lots of money, they have an enormous institution through which they can enact change in the world.
OK so then a thought experiment. If all moneys were completely devalued by some cataclysmic EMP type event, who would have the power. If money meant nothing tomorrow who would have the power the day after? I liked your definition. Those that can most affect the world. This starts by being a person that can effect their world. I believe that those with the most power have the best ability to effect those around them. A hunter gatherer gathers excess and shares with his less capable family... it give him power. This power can be from money earned, especially in global economies and a capitalist society. I don't think a millionaire in America overcharging for gas has the same power as the applied skills of a doctor without borders worker, or the compassion of a Red Cross volunteer. Especially when viewed from the perspective of the recipient of that power.
I think power is definitely relative. Often it requires some financial backing, because in the age of a global economy that's how things are done. I don't think that money = power at all though. I consider power a more personal trait/skill, rather than a possession one has.
To turn this into a more lively perspective, does owning the gun give you power? Does being able to effectively use the gun give you power? Do the application and upkeep of said tool give you power? I don't want to confuse power with the tools we use to acquire power. I don't think owning a gun or having lots of money gives you any power, or any happiness, fwiw.
Yes. Owning a gun (or for that matter a hammer or a paperclip) increases your power by my definition. Why don't you think money is power? I think there is a 1-1 reduction or at least a 1-0.9 reduction between money and power. Of course, money BEING power relies on a social network in which people learn to value money. But we have that. And since we have that, money=power.
