Why Power Dynamics Matter

Whether power lies in the creator of the world or it lies in visible processes of nature is an age-old debate that does not seem to be settled in the foreseeable future. Yet natural scientists and social philosophers have been fighting fiercely over the issue. Ancient philosophers such as Adi Shankaracharya, Socrates, and Plato argued that the ultimate power lies in Almighty God, who created the world we are living in. But biological scientist Charles Darwin, followed by social scientist Herbert Spencer, supplied contrary evidence with plausible scientific explanations of the theory of evolution, where they argued that only the capable creatures survive and the incapable ones die out in the process of natural, social selection.    

There are thus two important explanations about the existence of life and the universe. The evolutionary theory of natural, social selection and the ecological theory of human intervention to mitigate inequality and form an equitable one. While the former theory propagates a free market approach fostered by unfettered capitalism, the latter is guided by the ecological approaches maintained by constrained socialism. Further, the former principle gave rise to democracy and absolute freedom; the latter advocated for equality and social justice. None of these arguments are baseless and are as interesting as they are compelling.  

Philosophy of life

It may be an undeniable fact that most people in the world in actual life do not strictly follow either of the two approaches in their life. They are a mixed lot – now evolutionary, now ecological – not standing in a fixed position as their philosophy of life. This happens because there is no such thing as a single truth with absolute essence. It is the power relations between various forces that determine the truth. The truth is not beyond power dynamics that shape the world order and its operation. 

Power dynamics consist of a number of factors – physical force, ideational influence and organizational control. Likewise, events take place in the world through a curious process of negotiated power dynamics. Things do exist in the world not because this is a natural law, but because various dimensions of power dynamics make them exist.