10. Power

What is Power?

Think of Power like a spirit all around us, guiding what we can or can't do. No one escapes its effects, though some have more access to direct its abilities at the expense of others. It can possess people unknowingly, for better or worse. Oh, and it lingers... even when Power seems to have faded, its impact is reproduced simply by lying dormant in what we take for granted.

Power is the network of social boundaries that shapes what is possible.^[1]

Power isn't as intuitive as we might expect. It's not simply understood as a matter of who does what to someone else; in fact, we might not know the who or see the what. It's not just action, because stagnation can have the same outcomes.

Perhaps shifting the focus of Power away from what individual actors appears so broad that it loops into being pointless. If it's everywhere, then it's nowhere. Particularly for the purpose of addressing inequities, it risks skirting accountability for those who oppress. These concerns with Power theory are noted, but as I will argue, a more comprehensive understanding of power can open up new avenues to address and direct it.

If Power shapes freedom, Power literacy is liberatory. It is our job, then, to identify Power in all its forms. So let's start with the basics.

Accumulate to Dominate: Boundary Negotiators

In today’s public imagination, one interpretation of Power conquers all. A businessman gains power as he rises through the ranks in the company. An empire amasses power as its territory expands. Super Mario even powers up when he obtains a mushroom.

Power is often rationalized as a resource that accumulates like capital at the expense of those without it. The more money or higher status someone "has," the stronger they are. So... does this mean properties like wealth, status, or ability are themselves Power, then? Does collecting, building, or growing them make someone more powerful? Not... necessarily.

Power is not easily counted or comparable as accumulation might suggest. Someone can have more money or a higher job title, but who has more Power between an unassuming billionaire and an armed vigilante? Which is more influential between a coordinated propaganda network and one deeply resonant work of art? The exchange rate of these resources, if there could even be one, is entirely context-dependent. Without relational definition, these resources hold no inherent value or meaning.

These resources represent a potential for Power. They, the Power Capacitors, are means to an end that determine what type of action can be taken.

One last bit of clarification: Just because the numeric properties of Capacitors provide imprecise interpretations, that does not mean they are irrelevant. A 12% increase for $3,000 is less significant than it is for $30,000. In other words, accumulation still provides some indication to the scale of Power that can be expressed, we just don't know to what extent it is more or less intense than a Capacitor of a different type.

Time for Action

As the subjects of this section's opening accumulated their respective Capacitors, their potential to limit the freedoms of others increased. This depicts a very straightforward domination, where A gets B to do something they wouldn't otherwise do.^[2] Labor exploitation. Imprisonment. Slavery. At a societal scale, Capacitors can be used as Power Weapons to contract what is possible.

However, the opposite is also true. That same potential can be used to expand the freedoms of others as Power Tools. Collective governance. Enshrining rights. Acceptance. The struggles we see play out, from the national stage to local communities, represent the perpetual cycle of Boundary Negotiation: the process of determining freedom.

Wait, sorry, one more thing. I said "the struggles we see play out" a second ago, but... visibility shouldn't necessarily be assumed.

Consider how one might use their status to set the agenda.^[3] A decision-making board could hide problems of interest from appearing in their debates, which implicitly deems those topics non-issues. Voices may be excluded from the conversations entirely. Next, consider how psychological manipulation could be a form of invisible coercion. Figures of particular authority or credibility can shape the preferences of people who place their trust in them.^[4] This creates a willing cooperation even if the resulting actions or beliefs are against the material interest of the recipients.

So, quick review. Power has many mechanisms, and they aren't always obvious. Capacitors tend to multiply in favor of those who already have them. Different Boundary Negotiators can be stacked or combined for greater effects. I don't want to presume how you're feeling if this is new information, but just speaking for myself... this all seems pretty bleak. Some of our most potent options for fighting inequity are ahead of us, though, and they're often obscured. Let's press on.

Permeate to Demarcate: Realm Enforcers

Unfortunately, it's time to get a bit existential (i.e. wacky mode). Why are we the way that we are, making the choices that we make? We are constantly in conversation with and adapting to the realities of the world around us. But... what even is reality when a complex society must carry so many diverse perspectives? Perhaps that ambiguity is our key.

We'll set aside how this forms for a second, but all people function with their own perceptions of what is good, normal, or rational. These personal definitions represent possible fields of action, or Realms of Freedom, for each individual. Knowingly operating outside one's Realm comes at a cost. While this is all well and good for single human beings, we often come together as families, as communities, as organizations, as nations. For each collective then, a Dominant Realm must form for a sense of continuity. Though Dominant Realms provide a shared understanding of values and norms, this does not necessarily require them to completely align with each individual Realm therein. Boundary Negotiation occurs to determine what is or is not included.

Our focus to this point has been on the active expansion or contraction of Realms. Now, we turn our attention to what passively maintains and legitimates them: Realm Enforcers.

1. Culture. We implicitly learn by trying to fit in with those around us. The practices and expressions that assign meaning to the world shapes acceptable behaviors and thoughts.^[5]

2. Institutions. Laws, programs, and other tangible structures formalize values. Their functions discipline and punish subjects^[6] to conform to the Dominant Realm.

In defining Power, one of the more challenging dilemmas arises in situations where individuals do not have express intent to dominate but still contract another's Realm. A bureaucrat is concretely the one who signs forms denying someone of their benefits, but they don't want that person to starve. A young couple rents out a second home not to squeeze out other potential buyers, but because they want to build wealth for the their future. With the growing national dependence on a smaller share of unethical megacorporations, at some point it becomes impossible not to oppress others by simply participating in society.

Does a lack of malice when participating in such systems absolve them of their responsibility? In some ways, perhaps. In other ways, not at all. It is true that this Machine points to an infinite cycle where the existing Dominant Realm shapes us, which in turn affects our individual Realms, which in turn affects the Dominant Realm, which... you get the idea. All people are governed by social boundaries that they were not always consciously involved in the development of. It becomes much harder to blame someone when they are doing they only thing they thought possible.

People do have an imperative to recognize where they are situated in the Dominant Realm. Because Power is embedded in every social action, the very least someone can do is recognize whether theirs are contracting or expanding the Realms of those affected. (The limitations of people doing this leads to a rabbit hole the Mythoscapes page will further detail...) Regardless, Realm Enforcers help us to shift the focus away from individuals and begs different questions: what mechanisms of Power are wired into our policies and practices? What systems or values promote the freedom of some over that of others?

The Realm Enforcers are particularly dangerous because, assuming we even consciously think about them, they appear unshakable. Too complex, interwoven, embedded. It is true that change is difficult, but if everything is socially constructed, it can be socially changed.

Next Steps

Well, that's Power! How does all this stuff work? Nanomachines, son.

Power is complex; it is defined by contradictions. Just as it subjugates, it subtly guides. Just as it is driven through legislation, it is driven through conversation. Just as it is acquired by an economic elite, it is built by people living on the street. The more we can understand power, the better equipped we are to harness it for positive social change.

You may still be asking WHO CARES!!!! and trying to connect to a practical application, which is totally valid. This has been a starting point. Next, we take all we thought we knew and question everything:

• How do Power Myths and Mythoscapes cause such wildly different Realms of Freedom in the first place? Why is it so effective to leverage them as weapons through Mythappropriation and Echocultures?

• Why does it seem like the Dominant Realm in America has constantly favored certain people? What strategies have Power Generators used to survive and thrive despite exclusion?

• How does Power possess Power Conduits differently? Do any of the old rules still apply given the new realities of Cyberspace and digital technology?

• What in God's name is this stupid website even about (01. PowerMyth Overview), and where are these ideas even coming from (04. Bibliography)?!??!?

Until next time.

~ Dillon Belmont, 3/24/2026