Searching for a positive theory of power

We cannot effectively combat negative exercises of power—that is domination—unless we are able to articulate an alternative, coherently and concisely. Power-to and power-with emerged in separate dichotomous debates to oppose domination (power-over), the traditional focus of power theory. Efforts to combine power-to, power-over, and power-with into a trichotomy, rather than producing a clear and robust positive theory of power to challenge domination, have created a complex and contested mix of definitions. This paper proposes a simplified formulation of the trichotomy: power at its most fundamental is the capacity to act and achieve outcomes and is labelled power-to. Power-over and power-with become two opposing exercises of this capacity. Power-over retains its emphasis on the hoarding of value by the dominant (normatively negative). Power-with is redefined to refer to an exercise of power in which value is equitably shared (normatively positive). These new definitions require that we abandon some of the distinguishing features that have been attached to these terms, but doing so resolves some outstanding disputes and provides new opportunities. It opens the way to more effectively ask what power-with and the conditions for collective flourishing and value creation might look like and why we should choose them over domination.