THE PERSPECTIVE OF POWER IN THREE Michel Foucault, another prominent academic,

DIMENSIONS wrote extensively on the subject of power.

There are others who consider his viewpoint to
be the fourth dimension. Dr. Lukes, who was
The capacity to avoid confrontation is taken into responsible for the conceptualization of the first
consideration in the third dimension of power. three dimensions, is not of this opinion.
People in positions of power have the ability to Because of this, the above paragraph is referred
mold how other people see their circumstances, to as the "contentious" fourth dimension. The
as well as how they think about and make sense work of Foucault, on the other hand, has had a
of the wider world. Those in positions of power significant impact, and many people consider it
are able to mold the preferences of those under to be a fourth power dimension. As a result, a
their control to the point that those under their short explanation of it may be found in this
control obey because they are unable to textbook.
conceive of any other option. They consider
compliance to be completely normal.
The first three dimensions have a perspective
on power as something that is oppressive. They
For instance, a company can promote the investigate the means through which one
notion that a sign of excellent character is a party's interests might triumph over those of
desire to put in a lot of effort into one's job. The another, whether it via conflict, the suppression
act of going above and beyond one's duties to of conflict, or the moulding of preferences. On
help others is admirable. The company provides the other hand, Foucault believed that power
opportunities for promotion and growth in was generative. Civilizations are able to produce
one's career to employees who exhibit this things thanks to their might. Individuals, or
characteristic. An employee who spends what Foucault referred to as "subjects," are one
enough time in this setting may, over the course of the most important things that they produce.
of their career, develop the mindset that toiling People are made into subjects of society via the
away at one's job is a praiseworthy quality. processes of indoctrination into roles and ideas,
Then, when the firm asks that worker to work the transmission of cultural information to
unpaid overtime on the weekend, the individual individuals, and the subsequent monitoring and
may opt to do so freely in order to satisfy the enforcement of social norms and expectations.
company's request. They do not give up their We develop physicians, teachers, moms, and
time for the sake of the firm because they are dads, along with every other topic that has a
forced to, but rather because they consider it to role in society, via the procedures described
be a good thing to do. The worker's convictions above.
and inclinations have been molded by the
corporation to the point that the worker has
adopted the interests that the company has. Foucault believed that power was exercised in
what he called "micro-practices," which might
be loosely translated as life's routine actions.
An Uncertain and Controversial Fourth When you give someone money in return for
Dimension of Power coffee, you are contributing to the maintenance
of the power structures that are essential to the
production of an economy in our society. When
you put in the effort to improve your score on a that have been discussed so far. Check to see if
test, you are contributing to the maintenance of you can make a connection between the
the hierarchies that underpin the transmission dimensions of power stated before and the
of knowledge in our society. Our everyday faces of power that are detailed here.
activities help to establish and re-create these
power interactions, which contribute to the vast
web of power relations that makes up society. Fleming and Spicer distinguished between the
episodic and systematic manifestations of
power.
Important Takeaways

Power has been broken down by experts into

One way to think about the episodic use of
four distinct dimensions.
power is as the direct application of power. It
One-dimensional power is the capacity to force involves the use of manipulation and
others to do what you want by overt hostility or compulsion.
physical intimidation.

Two-dimensional power is the capacity to

The exercise of power over another person or
obtain what you want by stifling disagreements
group to force their obedience when they
and restricting the range of topics that may be
otherwise would not cooperate is an example of
discussed.
coercion. Where does power come from, and
The capacity to acquire what you want by how does it offer one party the capacity to force
influencing the choices of other people is an another party's compliance? There are several,
example of three-dimensional power. including the following:

Power in its four dimensions refers to the The authority of the bureaucracy
complex web of power networks that is the
A tendency rooted in one's psyche to resort to
basis for society's internal organization.
aggressive or threatening behavior
The Iconic Figures and Locations of Power
A capacity for lowering levels of uncertainty
Peter Fleming and André Spicer established a
Ownership of useful assets and materials
framework with the intention of organizing the
large amount of academic study that has been
done on power. Faces of power and locations of
power are the two categories that are included The use of power to influence the subjects that
in their approach. people talk about and to define the problems
that people talk about within desired
parameters is an example of manipulation. The
ability to manipulate originates from a variety
The Many Sides of Power
of places, including the following:
The many ways in which individuals are exposed
The skill of subverting established norms of
to power are referred to as "the faces of
behavior.
power." When you learn more about these
faces, you will see that there are parallels Being able to specify the results that individuals
between them and the many aspects of power anticipate achieving
Mobilizing prejudice inside an organization, There is a possibility that the organizational
either in favor of or against specific subjects, culture at the hospital places a high importance
with the goal of exerting influence on the on patient care. It is possible that it will seek
decision-making process of its members this value since this is what society expects
hospitals to do; more specifically, the goal of
The direct use of power to acquire the
saving lives is a valid endeavor. All of the
obedience of others is an example of episodic
employees at the hospital subscribe to those
power. Systematic power, on the other hand,
core beliefs. When a patient then goes to visit a
examines the web of power that is responsible
doctor, the doctor automatically thinks that the
for the organizational structures that exist
patient wishes to extend their lifespan. They
inside our society. Dominance and
then make the decision to carry out the
subjectification are both components of it.
procedures necessary to preserve the life of
that patient.

The use of power to mold the preferences and

interests of other people is an essential
Because of these processes of dominance, many
component of dominance. Dominance may
who work in healthcare see the preservation of
arise from a variety of sources, including the
life as the most logical course of action. Doing
following:
anything else is inconceivable.
Integration into the norms and values of a
company or organization
What happens, therefore, when a patient with
Accepting without question the presumptions
an incurable disease who is also severely
that are used to direct conduct in a particular
disabled and suffering from excruciating agony
area of activity
arrives at the hospital? There is nothing that can
Sticking to the standards of operation of an be done to save the patient's life since they
organization; adopting those actions and have an incurable sickness. Keeping a sick alive
attitudes that an organization views as just makes their pain last that much longer. So,
acceptable Relating to the rules of operation of what exactly is the function of those who work
an institution in the healthcare industry?

A Prime Illustration of Dominance A person's sense of identity within a social

system might be said to have been "subjected"
The concept of dominance is one that requires when they went through the process of
some mental gymnastics to fully grasp. To make "subjectification." People are able to adapt to
this more clear, let's look at an example. As was various identities, which requires them to carry
said before, the factors that contributed to out certain acts, assume varying amounts of
dominance included things like culture, norms, power, and accept predetermined ideas and
unchallenged assumptions, and actions and ideals. Subjectification may take place through a
ideas that the organization acknowledges as variety of methods, including the following:
being acceptable. How would something like
this work in, say, a medical facility?
Working in groups

the observation of each individual's actions

within the context of a group

the development of techniques that may

determine the precise functions that different
people play

The development of terms and ideas that define

roles and responsibilities in society (e.g.,
manager, cashier, teacher, student). When you
give a title to yourself, it carries with it a certain
connotation, and when you use that
connotation to describe yourself, you
incorporate that connotation into your identity.

As was indicated previously, there is a degree of

overlap between the facets of power that are
being discussed here and the dimensions of
power that were discussed in the part before
this one. The table that follows provides a
summary of these overlapping regions. The idea
of one-dimensional power and two-dimensional
power both interact with the notion of
coercion. The second facet of power is found in
the realm of manipulation. On the other hand,
dominance intersects with both the third and
fourth dimensions of power, whereas
subjectification only overlaps with the fourth
dimension of power.