Path of Least Resistance Implicit Power

In his book, Power and Choice, W. Phillips Shively introduces to students of political science the importance of power within the framework of politics. According to him, “Politics consists of the making of a common decision for a group of people through the use of power”(Shively 9). And that “power” is, “the ability of one person or group to cause another person or group to do what the first wishes, by whatever means”(5). Power, therefore, is of extreme importance within the arena of politics for any group who wishes to institute reform or maintain order. And yet, the question of analyzing power, and understanding how it is used, is not as clear as one might imagine. There is a split among political scientists as to who has the power, and how those in positions of power keep it. The debate seems to be centralized over the difference between observable power (manifest) and indirect power (implicit). When deciding the question of who has the power, it seems that the arguments of Hunter and Dahl are mainly concerned with the observable power exercised by those in positions of authority. The other, and more sound, theory of Baratz, Bachrach, and Lukes, maintains that actual power li

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Approximate Word count = 1137
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)