Power — 3

The article below, the third in a series, is based on Richard Heinberg’s forthcoming book, Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival. (The first two in the series appeared in this blog on Feb. 29 and March 28.) You can read the first article here, and the second here, both on the Post Carbon Institute website. For information about the book and how to join a pre-release reading and discussion group, please go to postcarbon.org/power.

   

Too Much Power / by Richard Heinberg

Do some people have too much power over others? Do we humans have too much power over the natural world? These questions get to the heart of our biggest global problems. They also force us to think critically about the way society is organized, and about our own behavior. We often tend to give knee-jerk answers, but too much is at stake for that. We need to think critically and contextually.

First, what do we mean by power? While the word is used many ways, there are primarily just two kinds of power: physical power and social power. Physical power can be defined as the rate of energy transfer, or as the use of energy to do something; social power is the ability of one person or a group to influence the thoughts and behavior of others.

Nature provides examples of excessive physical power. MORE . . .