What are the Three Levels of Power?
Is power manipulation, or is it my dominance over you? In 1974 Steven Lukes was able to classify the different “types” of power in three dimensions in his book “Power: A Radical View”. In this note, I am going to illustrate how these three different levels can be identified in two of the most powerful agencies: fossil fuel industries and politics.
The representation of Steven Lukes’ Power dimensions in the fossil fuel industry
Within our contemporary society, people enforce power to influence other people’s actions, often used to serve egotistical interests; humankind’s battle against climate change is an example of how companies and governments use power to divert/ suppress the problem. Fossil fuel companies often want to promote constant technological development in favor of “greener” ways to get energy, even though they are responsible for two-thirds of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions (Krane 2017: 1). Therefore, this essay will demonstrate how the three dimensions of power are used in society to benefit the fossil fuel industry by suppressing pro-environmental policies.
Lukes begins analyzing Robert Dahl’s concept of power, describing it as: “power is determined by seeing who prevails in cases of decision-making where there is an observable conflict”(Lukes 1974: 11–13). This can be understood as the first dimension of power: a situation where “A” exerts power over “B” through voluntary decision-making. For example, when Republicans voted for Donald Trump to become president in favor of him enforcing his pro-fossil fuel policies, they showed their dominance over Democrats through a process of decision-making (suffrage). This means that the first dimension needs to be analyzed through observable behavior, in this case seeing people voting over an overt conflict: the future presidency.
An example of a direct exercise of power is when Trump obliterated the “Clean Power Plan” former President Obama promoted to reduce CO2 emissions, giving freedom and fewer impediments to the companies to overexploit fossil fuel production at immense levels. Trump shows his power by implementing policies against environmental lobbyists and stopping democrats’ interests for a cleaner corporative world (Frontline 2022).
The second dimension Lukes brings to the table is the analysis of Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz in which they state that “Power is also exercised when “A” devotes his energies to creating or reinforcing social and political values and institutional practices that limit the scope of the political process to public consideration” (Bachrach and Baratz 1962: 948). What is being explained is that this dimension sets the agenda for discussion; B recognizes the authority of “A”, an authority that sets obstacles for “B” to present his interests. “I sure can’t compete with the oil and gas industry PR budget that they use to pump propaganda at us” (Wilson 2022). Sharon Wilson (“B”) uses special cameras to detect methane leaks companies (“A”) produce when fracking natural gas even though they claim to have “green” extraction procedures.
She presents her evidence to regional governments, but her concerns are not brought to the agenda because companies silence activists with their coercive publicity and relations with republican governors. This is known as non-decision making, where the exercise of the power of not making a decision regarding an overt or covert conflict (willingly not discussing an issue), in this case, governors ignoring methane leaks in Texas (Frontline 2022). Evidently, this dimension embraces the mobilization of the bias, where the agenda voluntarily excludes the desires of “non-powerful” people to benefit those in power (Lukes 1974). For example, Trump designates the former C.E.O of ExxonMobil (fracking company) as Secretary of State to systematically go against pro-environmental policies that damage the progress of companies’ fossil fuel extraction
Furthermore, Lukes introduces the third dimension, where the power exercised tries to prevent conflict through thought control, in which “A” enforces an ideology over others (“B”) and shapes their mind into believing to have no grievances or even be 3 unaware of their own desires, where there is voluntary compliance to “A’s” interest.
The third dimension uses power to avoid a latent conflict, which is a conflict that would have happened if “B” had been aware of their interests or would have acted otherwise if not for the manipulation that “A” enforces on them (Lukes 1974: 24–25). “I did not grow up questioning fossil fuels, it was 1950’s USA, everything was automatic and wonderful” (Ingraffea 2022). This quote is an example of thought control, the government manipulated society into thinking that fossil fuels were beneficial ignoring all consequences. When decades pass, and the information about climate change becomes inevitable; this dimension is now used for changing the narrative towards “a solution”. “Carbon Capture can remove more than 90% of industrial CO2 emissions” (ExxonMobil 2021).
Carbon Capture is made to sound great because it is propaganda, scientist Charles Harvey on the other hand affirms that this is a false solution and that is diverting necessary funding meant for renewable sources (Harvey 2022).
All three dimensions are not “against” each other but are considered as levels. Lukes uses the word dimension because they can interact with each other but not necessarily share all their features. For example, we live in a third-dimensional world, because we can move forwards and backward, left and right, upwards and downwards. In a two-dimensional word we could only move left and right and forwards and backward; and in a one-dimensional word, only left and right (Siegel 2019). Similarly, the first dimension can analyze power in open conflicts, however, it lacks observation of “under the table” events such as overconflicts, so we need a second dimension that recognizes both decision-making and non-decision-making. But still, it falls short when recognizing a higher form of power, which is thought control: to avoid conflict and manipulate one’s interests. To concisely, Lukes’s dimensions system relates to each other in the sense that they perceive power through different lenses, and measure how impactful the exercising of power can be through these three levels.
In essence, this essay builds on the idea that Luke’s three-dimensional system highlights the different exercises of power that are used to mislead society in relation to climate change. Lukes provided the contemporary world with a system that allows 4 investigators to see how impactful policies can be, in this case, we can distinguish the difference in how Trump ending a project is comparably less impactful than manipulating people into believing that climate change can be solved even with the exploitation of fossil fuels through thought control; demonstrating that all dimensions are involved when society’s hierarchal system decides to suppress pro-environmental policies. All things considered, is evident that power is used to attend to personal interests, therefore, people would always try to climb to the next level (dimension) to pursue a higher dominance in society
Bibliography
Barnwell, R., Mohammad, G., Edge, D. (2022). The Power of Big Oil — Part Three: Delay. United States: Public Broadcasting Service.
Bachrach, P. and Baratz, M. (1962). Two Faces of Power. The American Political Science Review. USA: American Political Science Association
ExxonMobil. (2021). Reducing CO2 Emissions: The Power of Carbon Capture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAlYfgA_jdM
Harvey, C. (2022). Interviewed by Frontline, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
Ingraffea, T. (2022). Interviewed by Frontline, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
Krane, J. (2017). “Climate change and fossil fuel: An examination of risks for the energy industry and producer states”, Cambridge University Press.
Lukes, S. (1974). Power. A Radical View. Houndmills: Macmillan Press Itd.
Siegel, E. (2019). “This is why time has to be a dimension” Forbes, August 27. Wilson, S. (2022). Interviewed by Frontline, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
