None_Provided
"Power serves to create power. Powerlessness serves to re-enforce powerlessness"(Gaventa,1980:256). Such is the essence of the on going relationship between the Powerful and the Powerless of the Appalachian Valley where acquiescence of the repressed has become not only common practice but a way of life and a means of survival. In his novel Power and Powerlessness, John Gaventa examines the oppressive and desperate situation of the Appalachian coal miners under the autocratic power of absentee land-owners, local elites, and corrupt union leaders. His analyses is based on Lukes three-dimensional understanding of power from his book Power: A Radical View. Gaventa applies the three notions of power to the politics of inequalities in the Appalachian Valley and, while demonstrating the inadequacies of the first or 'pluralist' approach and the merits of the second and particularly the third dimensions, asserts that the interrelationship and reinforcing affect of all three dimensions !is necessary for an in depth understanding of the "total impact of power upon the actions [or inactions] and conceptions of the powerless"(Gaventa:256) This essay will examine Luke's three power dimensions and their applicability to Gaventa's account of t
The Company's 'successes' in decision making enhanced their power, legitimizing them as more fit to rule. Further analyses, however, would require a look at the less obvious controls which stemmed from the shaping and instilling of an ideological apparatus in support of the Company among the ordinary citizens. The inherent value of the mountaineer's land went unknowing to them while the Association who knew full well of the highly valued mineral-rich soil, took advantage of the situation and bought it for very little. They were deprived of reaping future benefits because the Company neglected to inform them of its true value and their aim to gain millions in profits. The first, second and third dimensions of power would give different reasons for this in answering how the Association was able to maintain the new order they had created and the quiescence of a people amongst their condition of poverty and inequality. The shaping of individual's conceptions can also take place indirectly or even unintentionally through ones membership in a social structure. Dahl's Who Govern's? expresses the pluralist belief that the political arena is an open system where everyone may participate and express grievances which in turn lead to decision making. Barach and Baratz (as cited in Lukes,1974:19) states that if "there is no conflict, overt or covert, the presumption must be that there is consensus on the prevailing allocation of values, in which case nondecision-making is impossible. The people were payed far too little for what the land was worth. Limiting yourself to this analyses would dismiss many factors that led to the quiescence of the mountain people, and would prevent a deeper understanding of this case. The elite made up a closely-knit group of political leaders in Appalachia who made decisions to advance their causes more than those of the Mountaineers. In other words, it involves specifying how A gets B to believe and choose to act in a way that reinforces the bias of the system, advancing the cause of A and impairing that of B, usually in the form of compliance. Often the land was sold to the Company for a price far below its worth.
Common topics in this essay:
Clearfork Valley,
Association Company,
Barach Baratz,
London Millions,
Using Luke's,
Ltd London,
Dahl's Govern's,
Lukes Gaventa,
Gaventa198015 Passive,
Bachrach Baratz,
pluralist approach,
dimension power,
power powerlessness,
view power,
covert conflict,
association able maintain,
traditional life,
mountain people,
economic potential,
existing system,
sense powerlessness,
american association ltd,
association ltd london,
potential issues grievances,
inequalities created maintained,
|
Acceptance Essays
