Blog # 5: Power

                                                    

 

 What is exactly power? Do you think you have power or others have power over you? The meaning of power is the ability to influence the behavior of the people; the ability to bring about an intended outcome even if others oppose to. Sometimes the power isn't that good if you are at the side that does not have power at all. According to the book Experience sociology powers its divide into two: empowerment which is the power to and domination which is the power over. The power to: is the ability to accomplish something whiles the power over: is the ability to dominate or rule others. The majority of the time the power over to becomes oppression- domination by a ruling group. According with the article five faces of oppression by Iris Young; oppression has five faces which are: Exploitation- the act of using people labors without offering an adequate compensation. In “macro-level” it focuses on exploitation by large sections of society. Marginalization- is the process of exclusion. The person with power decides that a specific group can’t enter in its organization; an example is the different races and even different cultures. Powerlessness – is the lack of power, situated to follow orders. Cultural imperialism – the groups that have power in society control how the people in that society interpret and communicate. Violence – the extreme aggression such as assault, rape and murder.

In the video the “Milgram Experiment” the authority power was shown as a scientific professor, they made an experiment in which consisted to prove how far a person is willing to go following the person who is superior to them. They were 12 people volunteering to the experiment which they belief was a memory test; it was divide it into two groups: one was the student and the other one was a teacher every time that the student got a wrong answer the teacher has to give then a electric shock every time increasing the volts, the electric shocks were from 15- 250 volts. The majority of the teachers went to the end given then 250 volts just because the scientific reminded them that it was an experiment and they had to proceed. The teachers were getting scared because they didn't hear any more the student making them think that the students were dead. At the end they reveled that in reality nobody was receiving electric shocks that it was an actor which they record. It is evident that “the power of authority and the belief that the experiment is for good was enough to persuade to go to the end”.

In my life I have the power to become a more educated person, the power to accomplish all my dream but like many others there still a greater power that rules over me, in my house that power are my parents, in college my professors, in my country my culture!