Galtung (1969) suggests that there are two main areas of exercising power, either power one has over another, or autonomy, the power of one’s self. Where one resides within their culture structure or political system depends fully on how they are able to exercise these powers. Some people are without opportunity, whereas others are able to tap into their power as a birthright.
According to Galtung from these two main sources there are three ways they can be exercised;
In an ideological sense the spreading of ideas and the empowerment that creates.
Having a good or service to offer, basically the ability to trade which he classifies as remunerative power. Those with more goods at their disposal are enriched in this power, goods could also be seen as natural resources.
He finally ponders that in contradiction to having a good to offer, one could also offer a “bad”. The notion that negative force such as violence is a power that shapes our world, labelled as punitive power.
The drivers of violence, or for an individual to take on the trauma of committing an act of violence toward another. One can postulate that survival is typically the main driver, but there are instances violence is acted out for the sake of violence.
It comes back to the moral and ethics driving the cause, the action itself.
Greed or financial corruption, religion or myth that distort reality and corruption through depravity. Have all been drivers of violence in the world.
Societal disruption and deviance of social norms of a place, however is a different means to enact change. Can sometimes be ethical if non violent.
While evolution of ethics, mores and norms can occur without societal disruption, in some systems of governance societal disruption is the only way for change. Even as a pacification movement.
Norms, mores and ethics evolve within groups of humans as societies and sub cultures evolve. Sometimes they do not and culture is broken from the outside in, and adaption to larger systems of values occur for survival.
So we have cultures determine to maintain self reliance to preserve their value systems, but that can also lead to stagnation and lack of growth. A perceived lack of evolution, a misalignment with humanity. Is that always a bad thing though? The are also times it is best if groups of human do not align with the direction of the world.
Corporate governance can play a role in bridging value systems.
But the state must exist before the corporation.
And the ideal governance system isn’t about forcing all funding into creating ideal urban form. It is about creating a system, a diverse system of governance that suits the existing urban structure and then deciding on the ways to retrofit that urban structure accordingly for future sustainable goals. Governance is therefore place based to optimize human interaction in real time.
How this can be achieved one must ponder on the aspects of the human psyche that corrupt motives. The psychology of why we err from core human values and how culturally bound core values of ethics and morals are.
Understanding the human experience, there are so many unknowns and semi knowns for maximizing wellness and growth.
The nature nurture debate for instance, what are the genetic predispositions we have due to what our ancestors endured to survive? That then correlate to creating epigenetic markers in a person’s DNA. Do these markers correlate to the metaphysical echo chambers that seems to exist for people. Triggers for trauma that seems to reappear over and over until that trauma is processed, in whatever shape or form it comes in.
This theory goes against the idea we are born a tabula rasa, that in fact we have some prewiring so to speak. That our external environment is seen from the lens of what we need to move through, and maybe there are some external environments we need to be exposed to within our life span to move through some metaphysical aspect of ourselves before we leave this plane of existence.
“power is central to the definition, use and management of resources – and so is the resistance to its exercises”
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