Power

Power is one of the representative works of John Kenneth Galbraith, the American economist and leading figure of the new institutional school. Originally published as The Anatomy of Power, the Chinese edition was translated by He Yongchang and released by CITIC Press Group in September 2023. In the book, Galbraith argues that power is not an obscure concept accessible only to experts, yet it becomes extremely complex once examined closely: how is one person's will imposed on another, and how does the latter come to acquiesce? Why do people willingly submit, surrendering their own choices to accept arrangements made by others? Is it the threat of physical punishment, the reward of money, or promises and persuasion? Around these questions, Galbraith approaches from an economist's perspective and identifies three ways in which power is exercised: condign power (coercion), compensatory power (obtaining obedience in exchange for rewards), and conditioned power (achieving assent through persuasion and the shaping of beliefs). He further points out that power has three sources—personality, property, and organization—which interweave with different means of exercise. After delineating the dialectical nature of power, the author traces its evolution from the pre-capitalist world through the rise of capitalism and advanced capitalist society to the organizational era, and discusses the operation of power in the realms of the state, the military, religion, and the media. Clear in logic and accessible in language, the book draws on everyday examples to analyze the mechanisms behind obedient behavior, helping readers understand the logic underlying various power phenomena in economic, political, and media life.