"Power: Fundamental Perspective" is a theoretical book, but it is a mixture of a reference book and a textbook.
The author Steven Lukes' discussion of power helps us understand and analyze the nature and use of power, and infer the impact of power on us in daily life.
There are three dimensions of power.
The first point of view focuses on "behavior when making decisions on various issues." Whoever wins in a certain competition or conflict finally decides which policy or which issue becomes the main axis of the policy, and that person has mastered " that power".
The second point of view focuses on who can use the ability to prevent certain issues they don't want to discuss from being brought to the table, or to prevent related conflicts from appearing on the table, that is, regard non-decision-making as one of the forms of decision-making.
Who gave the textbook description of "less land and more people" in Hong Kong?
(Photo by Liang Pengwei)
The third is the focus of this book. It is the viewpoint that the author thinks is really worth discussing. It is called the basic viewpoint. The focus is on thoroughly criticizing the position of the first two viewpoints focusing on (decision-making) behavior, thinking that decision-making and control of the political agenda It does not necessarily appear in the decision-making process.
To put it simply, the ability to completely eradicate conflicts can be manipulated to make the weak not think they are oppressed, and even willing to accept and approve the dominated model.
In the 1960s, American scholars used the first and second dimensions of power as the methodology of academic, social and even policy research, leading to the conclusion that American society is a pluralistic society and there are no elites. A term for class governance.
The author criticized this.
The views in the book are also applicable to Hong Kong today.
The lack of housing supply in Hong Kong is actually caused by different reasons, such as restrictions on land, environmental protection policies, and the rights and interests of indigenous inhabitants. However, the description of Hong Kong land that students learn from textbooks since childhood is just "less land and more people."
This shows that the government has the power to adjust education policies to control future public opinion and ensure that its discourse on land policies is widely accepted.
For details, please read the 286th "Hong Kong 01" Electronic Weekly Newsletter (October 11, 2021) "The
Intangible Essence of Power: From the United States in the 1970s to Hong Kong in the 21st Century
".
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286th "Hong Kong 01" Electronic Weekly News
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