'Steven Lukes' 'three dimensional' model of power

There has been much discussion concerning the various faces of power. Steven Lukes' classical essay entitled: 'Power; a Radical View' was written in 1974 and although the essay was based on the context at the time, it still provides political analysts with a robust and rigorous method to approaching the concept of power and how it operates. However, much criticism has arose bringing attention to various flaws in the three dimensional model of power. There are three key arguments that are brought against 'Power; A Radical View', which are important to consider in relation to whether the three dimensional model overlooks important aspects of how power actually works. These include the proposal put forward by individuals such as Clarissa Hayward, Michael Foucault and Jeffrey Isaac that the environment and structures that people reside within have a certain power over individuals; a fact that Lukes inadequately addresses. The whole idea that Lukes determines power as 'power over' someone by an opposing agent is criticised. This is an argument brought forward by critics such as Peter Morriss and Talcott Parsons. These political scientists believe that power is not necessarily a negative cycle. The idea that power can be exercised as an enabling force; in terms of 'power to' do something is their disagreement with Lukes' three dimensional approach. Another main argument brought against Lukes' model of power, which could show how it overlooks important aspects of how power actually operates is the unconvincing reliance that Lukes makes in his essay on the concept of 'real interests'. Ian Shapiro outlines, in his short essay entitled; 'On the Second Edition of Lukes' Third Face,' that Lukes has failed to deal with the possibility of people having conflicted interests and the reality that it is very difficult to predict or assume what factors affect how power operates when those interests "are manipulated or altered to their disadvantage by third parties," which are often unforeseen and un-specifiable. These three critiques will be examined in detail in order to gain an insight into whether the three dimensional approach by Steven Lukes is still useful and important in light of all the criticism or if it does indeed overlook important aspects of how power actually operates.

The first and second dimensions of power can be attributed to Robert Dahl, Morton Baratz and Peter Bachrach. Robert Dahl's highly simplified definition of power provided a strong point from which Baratz and Bachrach could develop and include the aspects of decision-making and non-decision making surrounding the area of power that involves setting the agenda. This shows us that Lukes, while making important developments in understanding power, was building on work by previous political commentators. This would have allowed him improve work by adding to what had already been done, even though it was by no means wrong to start off with. There are critiques that either still think that the three dimensional model of power does not include all the most important aspects needed to understanding how power actually operates or that it relies on assumptions that are often unconvincing. This implies that although there has been criticism about what Lukes has left out or chose to play down in his examination of power; it still provides much progress in the area of investigating the relationship of those involved in the mechanisms of power.

Peter Morriss has made some compelling criticisms aimed at the three faces of power. These include the view that it is not always wise to think of power as affecting others. Lukes continually defines power in terms of a force that is cast over someone to affect the way they operate. Morriss and Parsons both argue that Lukes' work is too simplified in the sense that it doesn't take into account other types of power other than conflict. Lukes acknowledges his mistake in not recognising that power is not always conducted over someone. However, he does defend his stance by claiming that the most relevant power relationship to conduct to gain an insight into matters that affect us all are the conflicting power relationships and the power that people have over one another; as opposed to the powers that we already know and have. Lukes' model provides methods of identifying and using data to gain an insight into previously difficult to measure areas. He was incorrect not to acknowledge the different types of power - however his rebuttal takes shape in the view that he is aiming to analysis one particular kind of power; one that he identifies as the most relevant to social life. However, Morriss makes valuable point to consider in the form that Lukes fails to recognize that power can exist without their ever been any actual affects that are evident to use for empirical analysis. "The absolutely basic common core to, or primitive notion lying behind all talk of power is the notion that A in some way affects B."1 This implies that even though Lukes may be making valuable progress in investigating certain types of power; there may be certain power relationships that have no visible outcomes.
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It could be argued then, that in certain cases, outcomes may be attributed to the incorrect cases of power relationships because certain power relationship outcomes come about as a result of seemingly unapparent occurrences. The argument that someone can possess power without actually using it; leads Morriss to take the view that power should be thought of as a capacity, rather than an exercise of influence.2 This implies that one should not limit the scope of power and take into account that it includes control of oneself and the environment. This is opposed to the view taken by ...

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