Power Analysis

(Categories are not mutually exclusive!)

• Personal Power

• Social Power

• National Power

• Imperial Power

• Objective and Subjective Power

• Constructive and Destructive Power

• Mechanical Power (Work, Energy, Electricity, Fossil Fuels, Machinery)

• Creative Power (Originality, Artistry, Literary, Poetic, Musical Creativity)

• Persuasive Power (Rhetoric, Argument, Eloquence, Charisma, Con Games)

• Emotional Power (Pathos, Love, Hate, Joy, Anger, Pity, Rage, Terror)

• Marital Power (Husband, Wife, In-Laws, Family, Fidelity, Spousal Abuse)

• Parental Power (Father, Mother, Child-raising, Child Care, Child Abuse)

• Cultural Power (Customs, Folkways, Ethnic Identity, Prejudice, Racism)

• Legal Power (Courts, Law Enforcement, Legislation, Lawsuits, Gavels)

• Coercive Power (Warnings, Threats, Blackmail, Violence, Oppression)

• Punishment Power (Setting "Consequences," Flunking, Firing, Prison, Execution)

• Reward Power (Awards, Gifts, Scholarships, Financial Aid, Wages, Support, Bribery)

• Expert Power (Skills, Experience, Certification, Degrees, Reputation, Ethos)

• Educational Power (Classes, School, Grades, Diplomas, Pass/Fail, Truancy Laws)

• Informational Power (Knowledge, News, Secrets, Disinformation, Censorship.)

• Intellectual Power (Intelligence, Analysis, Understanding, Intellectual Arrogance)

• Ideological Power (Political Ideas, Liberal, Conservative, Left, Right, Libertarian)

• Legitimate Power (Office, Title, Ordination, Certification, Election, Uniforms)

• Economic Power (Wages, Prices, Hiring and Firing, Financial Aid, Tuition, Bills)

• Financial Power (Markets, Banks, Investment, Recession, Economic Policy-Making)

• Physical Power (Health, Strength, Tools, Weapons, Firepower, Numbers, Bullying)

• Sexual Power (Reproduction, Seduction, Attraction, Harassment, Sexism, Rape)

• Star Power (Music, Films, TV, Media, Politicians, Mass Murderers)

• Image Power (Brands, Logo Images, Graphics, Flags, the Bald Eagle, the Swastika)

• Fear Power (Terror, Threats of Unemployment, Poverty, Homelessness, Death)

• Chemical Power (Prescription, Intoxication, Addiction, Drugs, Pollution, Poison)

• Others' Power (Assigned, Borrowed, By Reference, In the Name Of)

• Inertial Power (Tradition, Precedent, "The System," Mortmain)   

• People Power (Mass Action, Labor Organizing, Demonstrations, Strikes, Civil Disobedience, Gangs, Revolution).

O.W. 3/09

 

Thanks to the UTEP Women's Studies Dept. for some of these ideas.

For educational purposes only.