Power - Bertrand Russell

This was one of Bertrand Russell’s final books, in which he tried to summerise his grand theory. Marx explained human behaviour as a economic, ot was the will to money that directed human behaviour, Freud saw it as sex being the motive, for Russell he saw it in Power. It was the manipulation and management of power that he saw guiding human behaviour, and in this work he seeks to understand and explain the various interactions of power in the world. He argues that every man would like to be a God and that of the infinite desires that mankind has its power that is the chief of all of them.

Power Russell claims is like energy to physics. The Laws of social dynamics are capable of being explained with reference to it. Inorder to do so it must be stated in terms of various forms and manifestations of power. For me what is interesting about it, is that his arguements for a power matrix can also be applied to my theory of the history and ideological power of ideas. Russell states that there are two forms implicit and explicit. The leaders and the followers. Leaders have explicit power, and followers imlicit. People follow a leader with the aim of gaining or asurping some of the power that his help by the leader of the group. Likewise, an idea is accepted to assocate oneslef with others who hold the idea and the figure head of the intellectual movement. I then as I read the book will see if I can relate his anthropological theories of power to abstract conceptual notions of ideas, yet, it will not be so simple as ideas are connected to those who hold them, and do not occupy some ahistocal deconetxtualised space, but are tied both to the time and person who holds them for their ideological potency. (p.8-9)

Submission is the result of fear for ‘the members of a group hang together for fear of hanging seperately. It is vital to group together to produce homogenity and the illusion of strength in numbers. This is the same with ideas. If one person has an idea, then he is tied to the idea, if the idea is wrong then so is he. Yet, if many people hold it, then the idea is diffused amongst the group so the attachment is not as strong as the common sense of being together ties them all to an idea. This leads to Russells discussion of group mentality (p14-18), in which he looks at the intoxicating effect of the collective in which they reinforce each others believes and opinions, they serve to validate each other. He says that it is so powerfull that the aftermouth leds them to apathy and seeking stronger sources for the collective surge. In this collective he says there are two layers a superficial one, which is maintained against a common enemy who is magnified against which they establish themself. In the ideological matrix this would be the competing idea, the false, unreasonable, mad, unlogical idea that must be defeated. The second is the deeper conviction that the believe that they hold is correct, It is this deep loyalty confiction that leads people to fight for their believes, they gain a confidence that they are right in so much that they are convinced that the idea, or group can defeat anything that is posed against it. This if replicated through enough people becomes a conviction and confidence that is contagious and gives the appearance of a greater dominance and strength then they really have. He also brings up the point that they who are able to control matter can use this technology to control people (p. 20).

In chapter three Russell looks at the forms of power. He sees this as traditional, revolutionary, and naked power. Traditional power has the power and force of habit and the past. It does not have to prove its case, but has a wealth of history to support its posistion. It needs no justification at every moment, nor does it need to constantly try and erode the power of its compition as it is teh dominant power. Naked power for me is the intrinsic power that it has. Revolutionary power, depends upon a large group of people united by an emerging idea, sentiment, programme or creed. It is the result of power loving individuals grouping together. In this the group has a relationship between the individuals and the organisarion. It is a mutual relationship between them both. THe form of organisation will alter the way in which power is distributed amongst it. There is also layers of power in the organisation that behind the scenes supports that which is seen on the surface.

Revolutionary power. Russell sees the formation of this in the break up of traditional power. This happens when creeds and mental habits give way to scepticism, and a new creed arises to replace it and gains a new hold over men. If they are successfull in this then it becomes the new traditional power or dominant idea. After any revlution there is a post-justification. It must established that what it was doing was right and good, and that the previous tradition was wicked and all future revlutions are also wicked. It thus has to reconfigure the history and meaning of the past, to valourise the plight of the revolutionaries. A great example of this is the revolution f the English Reformation, this shows how they transformed the meaning by creating new icons and narratives of the past.

Power over opinion. At first a new idea has no power other then that of persuassion, this leads to a minority with the idea, this gives it greater powr which increases the force it can have over the minds over other people, who adopt it and become propoganda, who they are sells the idea. this then becomes through popularoty genuine belief in the majority. Russel said that ‘Reason prevailed over prejudice because it provided a means of realising existing purposes, and because the proof that it did was so convincing.’ (p.111) The appeal of reason is that it gives an objective location from which to judge the claims of someone. It was evidence which would be convincing to every sane man who takes the trouble to examine it, if then it can appeal to reason then it can invoke confidence that people can and will believe in it. Rational evidence provides things that can be conclusive and then iterated to others. The potency of iteration is that as holders of ideas aquire power they have a capacityof influencing believe. He sees that power over opinion like all power tends to coalescence and concntration. This happens because ideas tend to gather together to increase the power over opinions. This organises the ideas and opinions, this can be seen in the case of Newtonian physics. Initially the idea was weak, but as it gained power and popularity it was organised and refined into more potent and simplified forms that would be more potent. If this new conecntrate dcreed is held as orthodixy by all members of the collective then they an increase in power. Adherence to the doctrine is vital. The uniformity of the doctrine in the group impacts upon its strength as a creed.