Power And Powerless The Valedictorian

Looking at the power structures within our society, we can use the sociological analysis of sociologists C. Wright Mills and Ralf Dahrendorf. These sociologists have similar opinions to the concept of power within our society. Starting with Mills, we learn through his readings that Power has to do with whatever decisions men make about the arrangements under which they live, and about the events which make up the history of their time (Mills, 1958). Mills tells us that we as citizens are powerless to those in government power. We learn through Mill’s power elite theory that those in a higher power or in an elite position such as the economy, government, and military are the ones who make the decisions. These elite subjugate the key leadership positions around us and the decisions they make have consequences for us, the citizens, or those who do not have much power. Those who are in the power elite or prominent positions enter these positions through education, their connections established from the place of education or simply through family. We are taught in this reading that those who are in power had power from the beginning and keep that power, it is not evenly distributed throughout our society. Looking at the viewpoint of power through Dahrendorf’s perspective, we can relate his perspective to class conflict. Dahrendorf states, “The history of all societies so far has been a history of class struggles” (Dahrendorf, 1958).

Often time power can be understood as control of material resources and wealth, control of politics and the institutions that make up society (Hutchison,2015). It is important to recognize and identify the core concepts of power or lack of power with individuals in society. The conflict theory allows examination within the text of those who hold power and lack power. The end result of power to hold dominance over another person, group, or society. As a result of the control and power is causes those who lack power to be devalued or alienated from a setting or even society (Hutchinson, 2015).

Fitting in is unnecessary. Embrace who you are. You will go through rough times in high school, but always stay strong, and never deny yourself said Neon Hitch. In ‘’Best in Class” by Margaret Talbot, relays a similar message that choosing only one valedictorian adds power to an already powerful social hierarchy high schools already create. Talbot releases this message to open the eyes of schools who decide to only pick one valedictorian and how people are taking school boards to court just to get the number one spot. She emphasizes her message by using informative diction and pathos from her interviews.

People got power because they got money. People that don’t got no money have less power.in John Steinbeck Of Mice and Men we also see people with different level of power. In the novel Curley and the Boss and Lennie all have different source of power. In mice and man the the character is the boss he deals with a lot of money. The money help the boss get workers to work for him without the money the worker will leave him.

Power, a tool, a quality, an influence over others, in other words, a sense of control. In relation to this, those that are given or even earned a great amount of power should use it moderately. In the world we live in today, many “leaders” use their power negatively, resulting in unfairness to others.

With power comes great responsibility. When people have too much power they don’t always know what to do with it. Power has a negative effect because those with too much become greedy with it.

Power is the ability to direct not affect. In other words don't abuse something because of personal feelings and emotions. Power has a negative effect on society because who ever has power over uses it.

Power and corruption are concepts that are difficult to fully understand. Several controversies occur within these topics. There are both conventional and unconventional ways of viewing power. In an attempt to make a claim contrary to common belief, David Brin stated, “It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible.” This statement is not accurate because power is the corrupting device responsible for a plethora of downfalls leaders have experienced.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Power serves no purpose but to be used. Through usage, it becomes a magnifying glass capable of analyzing the psyche of the one in power. Because of the horrendous acts of some of the tainted minds power has unraveled, society often arrives at the maximum: power corrupts. Although there are those in power who chose to use it as a ways of self-interest, it is the mindset of the person that serves as the bases of corruption, not the access to power.

The opportunities that come with power often lead to corruption. Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely”. As one’s power increases, their sense of morality lessens. This is due to the dominance one is given when they are in a position of authority, making them greedy and more likely to become fraudulent. People get addicted to power and crave what comes with it. Many will go to great lengths to keep their power. For example, in Shakespeare’s play, “Macbeth”, the main character, Macbeth, ends up killing those around him and even dies in hopes to keep his power alive. Humans want to have more and more power. Those with complete authority are more likely to abuse their power and become corrupt.

A world of system designed to keep people in unjust and unequal positions is held in place by several interrelated expression of "power over": political power, economic power, physical force, and ideological power (Bishop, 1994: 36). So, we can say power is defined as a possession of control, authority or influence over others. In terms of power of dominant groups over subordinate groups, we define power as domination of one group of people over another in major important spheres of life. Power inequities have been in existence throughout the history of humanity and the ways of manifestation evolved from extreme overt oppression to subtle, covert oppression. Three major forms of power inequalities discussed in this paper are

Although power is a beautiful thing that helps the world run, it is misused frequently. This is due in part because somebody in a position of power can start to disregard the principles that he/she most likely learned at a young age such as not to lie to, steal from, or bully others. That person will not receive consequences since he/she is the one in the position of power. Therefore, he/she will learn that it is okay to harm others. This is one of the ways that power can lead to corruption. People feel like they can do whatever they want when they hold a large amount of power, so it can easily be

Those in power can do what they want with the power. Power gives people the strength they need to survive in their society. Power is the source to the weak and confident. The overuse of power can be damaging to others. In the book Animal Farm by George Orwell, there are many animals who have major power and use it there benefit. Although knowledge and education can bring great change, power in the wrong hands is extremely dangerous, because they can use the power to tear down their enemies, those in power can discriminate others, and the powerful can bend the power into benefiting themselves.

For centuries, the human population has progressed through the establishment of civilizations; some of the most advanced and notable ancient civilizations thrived on the foundation of a political or social hierarchy, in which a particular group held more power than the other. In Mesopotamia, for example, the king, who was at the top of the ladder, declared laws while slaves worked for the wealthier class. Even today, this hierarchical trend persists; in the United States, members of the judicial, executive, or legislative branch have more influence in politics than ordinary citizens. Within every republic, democracy, monarchy, etc. there will always be a person or group that contains more power than the majority of its citizens. Power can be

According to the English author and philosopher, Edmund Burke, “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” (Burke) This often proves to be true in Thomas Mofolo’s novel Chaka. Power is often a corruptive concept. If you do not have a genuinely selfless heart, you will become corrupted by your own power, which often happened to those of power in this novel. Power can be expressed through controlling others, but it can also be expressed by disabling others from controlling you by rebelling. Powerlessness occurs when you lose the determination to stop others from controlling you. In Chaka, Thomas Mofolo distinguishes between the powerful and powerless by making the powerful easier to relate to than the powerless, while also showing how very few of the powerless were able to acquire power.