Steven Lukes famously argued that the behaviouralism-influenced pluralist and elitist models of power were incomplete. Lukes argued that power had a third dimension: the ability to shape an agent's preferences or perceptions of their'real interests' This prompted some, including Hay, to argue that Lukes conflated analysis and critique, which resulted in unsatisfactory answers. This article examines Hay's critique and Lukes's defence of the normative component in his
Steven Lukes famously argued that the behaviouralism-influenced pluralist and elitist models of power were incomplete. Lukes argued that power had a third dimension: the ability to shape an agent's preferences or perceptions of their'real interests' This prompted some, including Hay, to argue that Lukes conflated analysis and critique, which resulted in unsatisfactory answers. This article examines Hay's critique and Lukes's defence of the normative component in his
Steven Lukes famously argued that the behaviouralism-influenced pluralist and elitist models of power were incomplete. Lukes argued that power had a third dimension: the ability to shape an agent's preferences or perceptions of their'real interests' This prompted some, including Hay, to argue that Lukes conflated analysis and critique, which resulted in unsatisfactory answers. This article examines Hay's critique and Lukes's defence of the normative component in his
Interests and the Difculty of Separating Analysis from Critique Clare Heyward University of Birmingham Lukess three-dimensional view of power (1974) included a substantial normative element. This prompted some, including Hay (1997 and 2002) to argue that Lukes conated analysis and critique, which resulted in unsatisfactory answers to some difcult questions about the exercise of power. This article examines Hays critique and Lukess defence of the normative component in his revised edition of Power: A Radical View (2005). It argues that attempts to formulate a purely empirical account of real interests and separate the analysis of the third face of power from critique fail because positions on the structure and agency debate are at least partly informed by normative commitments and it shows how Lukess 2005 reformulation can provide answers to two questions raised in his 1974 discussion. Introduction Steven Lukes (1974) famously argued that the behaviouralism-inuenced pluralist and elitist models of power were incomplete. In addition to the rst two faces of power as the ability to affect decision-making (Dahl, 1957) and the ability to set the agenda (Bacharach and Baratz, 1962), Lukes argued that power had a third dimension: the ability to shape an agents preferences or perceptions of their real interests. Lukes distinguished between perceived and real interests and sug- gested that the powerful can control the weak by causing them to misperceive their real interests. Whereas the pluralist and elitist models assumed that agents can always identify and articulate their own interests, the radical view refused to take that for granted. If the third dimension of power was successfully exercised, even a slave might be content with his exploitation. The concept of real interests included a normative component, which was heavily criticised. As Colin Hay put it, Lukes conated analysis with critique (Hay, 2002, p. 183). This precluded the idea that power can be exercised legitimately (therefore altering its usual scientic and folk meanings signicantly) and prevented theorists from ever agreeing on the concept of power (Hay, 2002, p. 184), putting power relations beyond scientic, objective analysis. It was also cited as the reason for Lukess unsatisfactory answers to two questions raised in his 1974 discussion. The rst question was: Can A exercise power over B in Bs real interests?. Lukes answered: POLITICS: 2007 VOL 27(1), 4854 2007 The Author. Journal compilation 2007 Political Studies Association there are two possible responses: (1) that A might exercise short-term power over B (with an observable conict of subjective interests), but that if and when B realises his real interests, that power relationship ends: it is self-annihilating; or (2) that all or most forms of attempted or successful control by A over B constitutes a violation of Bs autonomy and B has a real interest in autonomy; so that such an exercise of power cannot be in Bs real interests (Lukes, 1974, p. 33). Lukes admitted the rst response smacked of paternalism, whereas the second anarchist response failed to distinguish power from any other forms of inuence. He argued that the rst is preferable if there is a suitable empirical basis for Bs real interests (Lukes, 1974, p. 33), but, as Hay points out, without providing a means of establishing such a basis (Hay, 2002, p. 182). The second question was: Can A exercise power over B when the knowledge of the effects of As actions are not available to A? (Lukes, 1974, p. 51). Lukes answered: If As ignorance of those effects is due to his (remediable) failure to nd out, the answer appears to be yes. Where, however, he could not have found out because, say, certain factual or technical knowledge was simply not available then talk of an exercise of power appears to lose all its point (Lukes, 1974, p. 51). According to Hay, this is unsatisfactory because Lukes assumed that the conse- quences of As actions must be negative such that to ascribe responsibility is to apportion blame, and to identify a power relation between A and B is to hold A responsible for its consequences (Hay, 2002, p. 187). Hay argues that blame, responsibility and power can, and should, be separated. For example, a doctor assisting a patient in voluntary euthanasia is responsible for this exercise of power, but not necessarily blameworthy (Hay, 2002, p. 187). Lukess critics, such as Hay, Ted Benton (1981) and Stewart Clegg (1989) argued that the conception of real interests should be replaced by a purely empirical one to ensure that power relations were rendered visible prior to critique. This article will examine Hays account as it links power to recent developments in the structure agency debate. Hays alternative to real interests Hay (1997 and 2002) dened power as (1) the ability to affect an agents actions (direct power); (2) to alter the context of action so that an agent has more, or fewer, options from which to choose (indirect power). 1 This removed references to inter- ests and identied both agential and structural components of the exercise of power. Hay argued that his denition removed the normative component from the exercise of power, making it possible to infer that As action has affected Bs conduct or context of action, i.e. that A has exerted power over B (Hay, 2002, p. 186), without drawing conclusions about the rightness or wrongness of the action or whether A should be held responsible or culpable. For Hay, for A to have power over B means that B does not have reciprocal powers to alter As actions or context of action (Hay, 2002, p. 185). POWER THE RADICAL VIEW 49 2007 The Author. Journal compilation 2007 Political Studies Association POLITICS: 2007 VOL 27(1) The difculties of separating analysis from critique Although Hays account removes references to real interests, it does not remove the normative component. Instead, value judgements are smuggled back in via his use of reciprocity, which involves the idea of trade-offs and priorities. It is conceivable that A could exert power over B in one context, but B could change different contexts in which A acts. For example, a trafc warden might be able to exercise power by clamping cars, which has a big impact on peoples day-to-day lives. However, a rich businessman who has had his car clamped might be able to get the policy on clamping changed, so altering the context in which the trafc warden does his job. In these instances, who has power over whom? When assessing the power relations between agents, we need a theory of which contexts are the more important or signicant, which Hay does not provide. Intuitively, it seems that the businessman who can change council policy is the more powerful, even though within the context of getting a parking ne he is not. How do we account for this? One way is to introduce normative assumptions about which contexts are the most important to people. There is an alternative. Strategic contexts can overlap, or be embedded in others. If power in one context gives an agent power to inuence many strategic contexts for many people, then he can be said to be more powerful than someone who has the power to inuence only a few. So, in the above example, the businessman has more power because his inuence over council policy means that he has the potential to affect many more peoples lives, in many different areas, than the trafc warden who exercises power in the simple context of enforcing trafc rules. This response assumes that identifying contexts is straightforwardly empirical but there are reasons to doubt this. In earlier work on the structureagency debate, Hay argued that structures can be identied by looking for a systematic distribution of resources, opportunities or constraints from the perspective of different persons and social groups (Hay, 1995, p. 206). However, it remains difcult to quantify strategic contexts, or to identify structures without an implicit appeal to the normative because, for Hay, to transform a strategic context means to change the strategic selectivity of the context: to redene what actions are more favourable or unfavourable in order to realise certain goals, or to change the costs or benets of a course of action. Here, the normative element returns. The judgement about what counts as a constraint or a cost is a value judgement, informed by the idea of what is good for persons in general. The strategic-relational view therefore seems based upon unacknowledged assumptions about values what is good for people, how agents ought to be treated and what they can be expected to bear. Lukess reformulation Having hopefully vindicated Lukess inclusion of a normative component, let us now turn to his 2005 reformulation of the radical view. Lukes does not directly address the two questions raised in his 1974 discussion, but I hope to show his reformulation can provide answers to them. For this purpose, two main changes are noteworthy. The rst is that Lukes makes more explicit the idea that power is mediated by social structure and can hence be exercised in various ways, including unintentionally and passively. The second is that he introduces a distinction 50 CLARE HEYWARD 2007 The Author. Journal compilation 2007 Political Studies Association POLITICS: 2007 VOL 27(1) between power over and domination, where the latter is conceived as A exer- cising power over B in a way that adversely affects Bs real interests. The conception of real interests is further elaborated. This means that power over is not necessarily a pejorative concept, though domination is. Structures and power As Clegg notes, the 1974 discussion is agent-focused, with no conception of power as a structural property (Clegg, 1989, p. 99), despite Lukess criticism of pluralist and elitist models for neglecting social arrangements and structures (Lukes, 1974, p. 22). In his reformulation Lukes states that social life involves an interplay between agent power and structure (Lukes, 2005, pp. 689) 2 and introduces four sets of distinctions. Power can be: 1. exercised with respect to one or many issue(s); 2. context-bound or context-transcending; 3. exercised intentionally or unintentionally; 4. manifested in active exercise or inactive enjoyment (Lukes, 2005, pp. 7481). The rst of each pair is congruent with agent-focused views of power, whereas their opposites suggest a greater role for structure. Let us turn to the third and fourth pairs, where this is especially apparent. Actions can have intended and unintended consequences, and power can be manifested in both. One possible example is the power of economic transactions, which foreclose or enable opportunities for countless unknown others. Many consequences that are not intended by a particular agent are the results of the agents actions mediated by social structures. Likewise, when considering active or inactive power, the latter can be (but is not necessarily) linked to structural features like ones social status. Exercise of inactive power is possible because social struc- tures that govern relationships can cause the weak to act to anticipate possible actions by the powerful. Lukes writes: If I can achieve the appropriate outcomes without having to act, because of the attitudes towards me or because of a favour- able alignment of social relations and forces facilitating such outcomes, then my power is surely all the greater (Lukes, 2005, pp. 7778). Power over and domination Lukess second major clarication is to identify two different meanings of the term power over. Inuenced by Spinoza, Lukes differentiates between potentia (power to) and potestas (power over). He then distinguishes between domination and potestas. Potestas is to have power over others; i.e. to limit the range of actions that others can perform, or to constrain their choices (Lukes, 2005, p. 73). Its exercise can be neutral or benign. Lukes gives the examples of Socrates teaching his students or a mothers relationship with her child (Lukes, 2005, p. 84). Domination, by contrast, is exercise of power over others in a way that subverts their real interests. Real interests are described in terms of an agents ability to live life according to how his nature and judgements dictate (Lukes, 2005, p. 123). There are many views as to what this means, hence power (more accurately, domination) remains contestable. Real interests, or their equivalent, should be seen as: POWER THE RADICAL VIEW 51 2007 The Author. Journal compilation 2007 Political Studies Association POLITICS: 2007 VOL 27(1) a function of ones explanatory framework, which in turn has to be justied. There is no reason to believe that there exists a canonical set of such interests that will constitute the last word on the matter that will resolve moral conicts and set the seal on proffered explanations, conrming them as true (Lukes, 2005, p. 148). Although not ultimately resolvable empirically, views on domination can be more or less plausible. For example, as Lukes notes, an individuals reported preferences and interests might reasonably be thought to be inuenced by oppressive social structures some agents have been repeatedly told that their lives are somehow less worthy, or more likely to involve suffering. Such people might display what phi- losophers call adaptive preferences, where, as Amartya Sen puts it, the underdog learns to bear the burden so well that he or she overlooks the burden itself. Discontent is replaced by acceptance, hopeless rebellion by conformist quiet, and { suffering by cheerful endurance (Sen, 1984, pp. 308309). For Lukes, domination results in the dominated being less able to make independent judgements; it constrains their ability to be self-determining. Let us now consider how these changes answer Lukess two questions. 1. Can A exercise power over B in Bs real interests? The mistake Lukes made in the 1974 discussion of this question was to use the term power over to cover both domination and potestas. In his reformulation Lukes makes clear that the third dimension of power is concerned with relations of domination only, not about potestas per se (Lukes, 2005, pp. 64, 8586). Once this distinction is made, the answer to his question is clearer. Quite simply, the answer is yes if power over is interpreted as potestas, and no if it is interpreted as domi- nation (the question becomes analytic). Why was this not apparent before? It is explicit in Lukess discussion that in this situation A exercises power over (in the sense of potestas) B when Bs real interests clash with Bs stated preferences. When there is an observable conict of preferences, we can identify the power relation- ship on the basis of the clash between Bs stated preferences and As preferences for B alone. There is no need to invoke the third face of power, to examine Bs real interests and consider whether As actions further them, because analysis of power relations can take place using the rst or second dimension. The third face of power (domination) is called upon only in analysis of possible power relations where there is no clash between the stated preferences of the powerful and those of the victim. Lukess conception of the third face of power informs us that we cannot rely only on observation and taking preferences as givens, we have to look at possible manipulation of preferences and intentions. It does not mean that we jettison the rst two faces of power and use the third face of power to analyse all potential power relationships, nor that we abandon hope of any empirical evidence in analysis of any type of power relation. Relationships of potestas can be identied by appeal to observable conict, but the radical view informs us that observable conict is sufcient but not necessary for power relationships to exist. The problem dissolves once we understand that power over, as commonly used, covers both potestas and domination, and that observable conict is sufcient 52 CLARE HEYWARD 2007 The Author. Journal compilation 2007 Political Studies Association POLITICS: 2007 VOL 27(1) grounds to identify an instance of potestas. The confusion over this question results from confusing potestas and domination and trying to use the third face to analyse power relations when the second face is sufcient, not from anything about the concept of real interests. 2. Can A exercise power over B when the knowledge of the effects of As actions are not available to A? Given Lukess original answer to this question, it is easy to see the force of Hays argument that Lukes uses power relations to identify an agents culpability. However, the problem is not due to conation of the normative and empirical, but a failure to account for the role of structure. The question seems potentially problematic in Lukess 1974 discussion because he takes an overly agent-focused view. If structures are neglected, it seems that the third dimension of power cannot be exercised unconsciously for such a relation to obtain, an agent must set out intentionally to deceive the victim as to their real interests. If the role of structures is acknowledged, it is easier to see how As actions bring about both intended and unintended effects that might or might not be in Bs best interests. Consequences that are not intended or even foreseen by a particular agent are the results of the agents actions mediated through structures. The fact that some effects of As actions were unintended does not alter the fact that those actions have an effect, for better or for worse, on B. For example the Bank of Englands decision to raise interest rates might mean nancial difculties for Mr and Mrs Smith. The fact that the bank did not know of the outcome of the decision for every single mortgage holder, and therefore could not act with it in mind when making the decision, does not entail that it does not exercise power over them all. If As actions have unintended but neutral or benecial consequences for B, then the power over relationship is one of potestas; if they adversely affect Bs real interests it is one of dominance. The action of a father in a patriarchal society denying his beloved daughters elementary education could be an example. The denial of elementary education to the girls is against their real interests 3 but their father accepts the patriarchal view that education is not necessary for women. So, although the father cares for his daughters and wants them to have a good life, he acts against their real interests. As this result is unintentional, we might not blame him for it, but it remains the case that his actions express domination. Although the third dimension of power most frequently identies conscious manipulation and deceit, it is not limited to these. Conclusion This article has defended the inclusion of a normative element in Lukess radical view by showing that it is not the true cause of confusion over the issues of whether power can be exercised unintentionally or paternalistically. It has also suggested that to remove the normative from ideas of structure and agency is more difcult than previously thought, if not impossible, and that the strategic-relational view of structure, agency and power is as reliant on normative ideas as the radical view. Inclusion of the normative does not mean that theoretical frameworks cannot be justied, merely that the justication will include empirical and normative argu- POWER THE RADICAL VIEW 53 2007 The Author. Journal compilation 2007 Political Studies Association POLITICS: 2007 VOL 27(1) ment. 4 Finally, the article cautioned against using the third face of power (properly understood as domination) in all cases. It is one way of analysing power relation- ships, needed only when there is no observable conict of preferences. As David Marsh notes, the pluralist notion of power, still used in much of political science, ignores structural inequalities which are key features of political life (Marsh, 2002, p. 19). If we are to move towards a complete analysis of all political issues, we must accept the normative aspects of any theoretical framework and its most central political concepts, including the conception of power. Notes I would like to thank Simon Caney, Colin Hay, Ed Page, Magnus Ryner and two anonymous referees for Politics for their very helpful comments on various drafts. This article was written during my AHRC- sponsored Ph.D. studentship at University of Birmingham and I gratefully acknowledge the AHRCs support. 1 Indirect power could also change what options were available without affecting the overall number. Carter (1999) discusses quantifying freedom and constraints. 2 Lukes rst makes this argument in Essays and Social Theory (1977). 3 I assume that elementary education is necessary for a degree of self-determination and therefore in the girls best interests. Although I cannot pursue it here, I would argue that denying elementary education to women is defensible only on an extreme culturally-relativist view of morality. For a good criticism of cultural relativism see Dworkin (1985); for a useful overview of arguments against cultural relativism, see Caney (2005). It is worth noting that a defence of universal values can be sensitive to cultural diversity, e.g. Nussbaum (2000). 4 This is not unusual: a common objection to structuralism stems from its counter-intuitive conclusions about individual responsibility for criminal and immoral behaviour. Here, normative commitments call into doubt an ontological position. References Bacharach, P. and M.S. Baratz (1962), Two Faces of Power, American Political Science Review 56, pp. 947952. Benton, T. (1981), Objective Interests and the Sociology of Power, Sociology 15(2), pp. 161184. Caney, S. (2005), Justice Beyond Borders: A Global Political Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Carter, I. 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