A Radical View Analysis

A general definition of power is ‘the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of event’, however in a book, ‘A Radical View’, published in 1974, Steven Lukes argues the idea that there is actually three dimensions of power, therefore distinguishing between his idea of power and Robert Dahls’s interpretation on power. The three dimensions of power include ‘decision power and issue method’, non-decision making and agenda setting and manipulating the view of others in addition to the system power. Lukes interpretation of power became a significantly huge focus point when deliberating the realism of power. This essay will explore each dimension of power in fine detail and also how each of these concepts

This is therefore an expansion of Lukes first face of power, decision making, which evidently emphasises the element of power also in non-decision making. In 1963 Bachrach and Braratz defined power as ‘also exercised when A devotes his energies to creating or reinforcing social and political values and institutional practices that limit the scope of the political process to public consideration of only those issues which are comparatively innocuous to A’. This definition suggests that some groups are powerful enough to keep damaging issues off the political agenda, therefore we also have to consider ‘non decision-making’ where decisions which could have been taken but were never

It can be argued that individuals have real power if they agenda set as they are able to gain overall control of the situation. This is due to the fact that people obey individuals in authoritarian positions due to legitimacy or respect as they may be punish if they disobey. Therefore, participation from individuals can be low as their interests and opinions could easily be excluded. For example, the chairman in a meeting has power to decide what is discussed and does not need to worry about the risk of being confronted as he has the authority to change the topic of deliberation. In addition, agenda can be restrained by making something that is potentially at the forefront of discussion, a non-issue. Therefore power can be demonstrated through the act of preventing issues from invading