INT 905 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Paulo Freire, Group Dynamics
15 Jan 2020
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Societies would crumble if we didn"t exercise power over others all of the time. This statement would appear to be common wisdom, but to that, my response is "how would we know since we"ve never tried?" One thing that we do know is that conflict and destructive power are intrinsically linked. Scratch the surface of any conflict, and you will find a deep fear that one"s personal version of what is right is being threatened by someone or something. When that fear is triggered, two responses are typical we fight or we take flight. Either way, the power dynamic continues and is perpetuated. If you answer yes, you wouldn"t be the first to vote for a revolution. "power with" is a much more compelling strategy for change, in my view. Though, undoubtedly, it takes much more courage and skill to share power then it does to hoard power, it is a challenge whose time has come.
