DPS Module II: Political Thought

Issue Paper # 1
The one is entirely powerless in any situation by Than Min Aung (DPS - 33)
What is the meaning of power? The power means the ability to do something or act in a
particular way, especially as a faculty or quality: and the capacity or ability to direct or
influence the behavior of others or the course of events: and physical strength and force
exerted by something or someone.
In the other side, powerless have no power and unable to do something or to stop something.
In some situations, the person is powerful and in some situations, the one cannot be have
power, called powerless.
Power is a means of explaining how people or forces exercise influence over the actions of
others. Put another way, some members of our organization have more powerful than others
to shape and determine the nature of action within it. Power has exercised philosophers and
political scientists at least since Aristotle. Is power the same as influence? When does it
become authority? Is its nature affected by the way in which it is exercised? When is its
exercise considered legitimate, and when not? What considerations affect peoples responses
to attempts to exercise influence over them? Can we define the limits of a persons power, or
can we define only the limits of their authority?
The power is a resource, and it use to prevail upon someone else to do something is what we
mean by influence. Power is therefore always talents: the basis for action rather than the
action itself. Further although power is not equally distributed between team members of an
organization, no one is entirely powerless, even if we can exercise what power we have only
through non-compliance. The extent to which the use of power resources result in
compliance, and whether this is willing or unwilling, depends on how far the power resources
used are seen as legitimate.
Between master and slave, it is no doubt master is more powerful. Master possessed entire
life of slave. Anyway, the slave is entirely powerless in most of the life in most of the
situation. Slave accepts force and obeys. Master has power to use force against slave. When
slave does not accept force, he denied. Master does not accept the disobedient of slave. Then
finally, either slave will escape or slave is killed. It means master has not entire power in this
situation. In other side, the slave has not powerless for entire his life.

Like as master and slave, we can analyze Asian traditional family, husband and wife, most of
the Asian family, husband is a leader of a family and he is more powerful person on the
whole. Wife must follow the guidance of his husband. Wife cannot defend her husband.
Anyway, the wife one is not entirely powerless in any situation. She can deny some of the
situation. She can escape from feeling of powerless.
Also in gender equality, woman feels that they are powerless, when compare or compete with
man. This is also not correct in all situations. Woman is not entirely powerless in any
situation.
Also, in Myanmar , we, public feel that we are not powerless under government regime. It is
not right for all situations. We , people has power to vote and we can choose what we want
during election day and it show that we, Myanmar people are not entirely powerless in any
situation.
So, no one is entirely powerless in any situation. If they feel that they are powerless. It can be
escape and can feel less powerless. Before thinking of power, lets clarify what power isnt, it
isnt a force that you use like a weapon to get your own way. It isnt a suppression of what
you dont like about yourself to achieve a perfect ideal that doesnt exist in the first place. It
isnt money, status, possessions, or any other material surrogate, there are countless people
sitting in the lap of luxury who feel even more powerless than the average person does.