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Issue 4 - Power

Power In Economics

Economists often study inequality between different countries or different groups of society. They focus on wealth and income inequality. However, it is important to also recognise the inequality that exists within the discipline of economics itself. In this list of 'The Top 50 Economists from 1900 to the Present', only 4 of of them are women. Women have historically been, and continue to be underrepresented in economics. In 2016, only 35% of economics majors in the USA were obtained by women (something even more shocking considering that nowadays more women hold undergraduate degrees than men). This is a similar level to the early 1980s, as the number of women involved in undergraduate economics in the USA peaked in the 1990s but has since decreased. The situation is similar in Europe - for example only 10.4% of economics professors in the Netherlands are women. Clearly, economics remains male-dominated as a university subject, both amongst the students and amongst the teaching staff. Furthermore, some of the typical careers followed after an economics degree (e.g. banking) are also male-dominated, and arguably even sexist. At the start of 2019, HSBC still had a gender pay gap of 61%. In September 2019, a female city banker won a gender discrimination case after she revealed that she was being paid less than her male colleague for the exact same job. Overall, it is clear that economics and finance remain professions/disciplines filled with inequality.

The Power of the Church in Italy

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the most powerful institutions in the World. As its headquarters are located in Rome, Italy, more specifically in Vatican City, the institution has a close-knit relationship with its host country. The complex relationship between the Italian State and the Catholic Church, with Rome as the symbol of the highest institutions of both, is almost a century and a half long. The Lateran Pacts regulated the accord between the two, and granted the Church the recognition of the Catholic religion as the only state religion in Italy with the inclusion of the teaching of the Catholic religion in public schools. However, this peaceful mutual friendship was broken in 1984, with a new agreement that did not consider the Catholic religion as the sole religion of the Italian state and therefore Religion classes in schools are no longer mandatory. Today, the Italian State declares itself as a secular State, where every religion is welcomed and free to organise themselves in institutions. However, this seems controversial, as many public schools, hospitals and workplaces still display the catholic crucifix on the wall. Furthermore, the Catholic Church has a pressing influence on debates concerning divorce, abortion, assisted procreation etc... It is common for the Vatican to dwell in socio-political matters of the Italian government. So the question arises: is Italy truly a secular State, free to act uninfluenced by the Church?

Power's effects on social health

Power is an example of a complex system and concept which lies in the capacity to choose or not choose do do something. According to this definition, power, or the lack of it, has significant consequences on people's circumstances and may impact their health. Often power exists in visible relationships between people or groups of people, but more often than not, this power is the intangible, hidden and covert ability to exercise dominance, control, justice, and force.

Who controls the processes, organisations and structures is an important factor within these systems. It often determines who has access to resources or opportunities. These processes are shaped by social, economic, and political factors. Power governs so many aspects of any person's life. This exhaustive but incomplete list includes: housing, education, employment, and health and social care services. Th excessive use of power moulds public debates, social norms and decision making.

In the pragmatic 'Conceptual Framework For Action On The Social Determinants Of Health', the World Health Organisation has named and identified four main types of power:

- Power Over takes place where some individuals are able to influence or coerce others.

- Power to occurs when some people broadly, but successfully, manage to organise, alter and take advantage of existing hierarchies.

- Power with means that individuals are able to use the collective power of different communities, organisations or majorities to influence social change.

- Power within is an individual's ability to exercise power over others, usually minorities or groups of people that are challenged with large disadvantages.

Power of Literature

Power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. According to this definition, power reflects the influence of something on another. In a matter of fact, literature is a big influence. Literature is an aspect of communication, which is characterized by its an aesthetic writing style. Literature is a body of written works. The name has traditionally been applied to those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution. Literature may be classified according to a variety of systems, including language, national origin, historical period, genre, and subject matter. Literature is often used to pass a message, to express ideas in an explicit or implicit way. Literature influences its reader in different ways.

Literature, as a tool to denounce society

We can find two kinds of literature denouncing facts : the explicit literature and implicite literature

The explicit literature : Its aim is to directly denounce something, in a clear and direct style, which cannot leave any doubt to the reader. The most common literait works are essays, open-letters or pamphlets.

For instance, explicit literature were very usefull in France in the 18th century, during the Age of Enlightenment. In fact, many thinkers denounce religious institutions, accused of obscurantism. Voltaire wrote many pamphlets and essays to show and to reveal it.

The implicit literature : denounces in a more hidden way. It used in novel, fable or poetry. For example, Jean de La fontaine, a french fablier shows many inequalities and facts of the french court in the 17th century.

In this two different kinds, literature is used to denounce a problem. It is known as engaged literature. Through his work, the author defend an ethnic, political, social or religious cause. Indeed, literature is seen by many as the best way to denounce something. The french thinker Jean-Paul Sartre said "words are loaded pistols" to show the impact of literature, as an arm to defend ideas. Literature would thus be a tool to denounce and to ask for changes and reforms.

Literature, as a tool to reveal a hidden reality

This point joints the first one, seeing literature as a tool to denounce society. It shows that literature can be a revealer of some reality or hidden truth. In fact, during racial segregation many authors wrote to denounce the reality of injustices. For instance, Harper Lee, in her book To Kill a Mocking Bird, reveals the thruth about justice in the United States, highliting the injustice and racism that existed.

Futhermore, literature can reveal a hidden reality as the example of Zola's commitment in the Dreyfus affair shows that writers, intellectuals, have the power to bring out the triumph of truth and justice.

Literature, by the power of worlds and facts can thus reveal an unknown truth to its readers.

Literature, as a tool to instruct

Literature can either replicate existing forms of knowledge, embody them, illustrate them. Its aim is to question them, to relativize them, to challenge them. It can comfort or question the values ​​and beliefs of a society. It has the power to question the dominant ideology, the doxa, which even changes our world view. Moreover, literature can have many historical, cultural, artistic references which instruct its reader who discorvers them through literature.

Literature, as a way to escape

Power of literature is also seen in the power of words in making its reader escape for its reality. Through the beauty of words, the history of the book, we can escape and travel into the book. As an example of it, the protagonist of Madame de Bovary, in the Flaubert's book, a french writer, escales from her sad and monotone reality through literature. An illustration of the escape through literature is this quote of F Scott Fitzgerald "I used books as alternate worlds for a long time. I still do. I have dozens of reasons for why I love reading: one of them is that finding yourself wanting to hang out in the world created by a writer is one of the coolest feelings ever, although it can be damn uncomfortable".

Power in Sociology

There is an evident abuse of power in the history of sociology, as seen by the dominated white male canon now regarded as the ‘textbook’ version of sociology. It is important to note how this power was abused. The most notable barrier was the patriarchal society which denied women the recognition as legitimate contributors in discourse. An example of this is Gilman, a female sociologist regarded as the ‘leading feminist intellectual’ of her day, who was in fact more influential during her time than Durkheim, one of the three founding fathers. Similarly, Addams reflects on her inferior position as a female sociologist describing it as “to be in the right and always to be disbelieved and rejected” (1881:37). Furthermore, between 1890 and 1947 sociology moved further towards formal abstraction and in doing so delegitimising the work of female sociologists who practised a more activist form. This was used as a way to justify the women’s removal from the canon. Women were also only allowed as students and not as members of faculty.

Just like the absence of women from the historical canon, there is a clear lack of voice given to sociologists of colour. The emergence of American sociology actually has a hidden darker side. Booker T. Washington, who embraced racial inequality stating that “the black man got nearly as much out of slavery as the white man did”, was chosen to be a spokesman by the white leaders as he didn’t threaten their interests. His ideologies were the same ones later adopted by the Chicago school of sociology in the 1920’s practicing ‘scientific’ racism. During this time, an influential sociologist who is often still overlooked, W.E.B. Du Bois founded the Atlanta School of Sociology. Du Bois was a social activist who viewed sociological and economic factors as the main causes of racial inequality. This divide in US sociology remained as late as the 1960’s.

Power in Philosophy

Illustration of Confucius, one of the most influential Chinese philosophers.

Philosophy as an academic discipline in the ‘West’ has been greatly shaped by hierarchies of power. Despite the presence of philosophical thought in the cultures of India, China, Africa and indigenous America, these traditions are rarely acknowledged by Western academia.

This, however, has not always been the case. In the 17^th and 18^th century European philosophers such as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Christian Wolff held great reverence for Chinese philosophers and many scholars acknowledged either India or Africa as the birthplace of philosophy. It was only through the conscious efforts of European academics that this view began to shift. One of the key reasons that has been identified for this ideological shift is the rise of white supremacist attitudes that culminated in the view that philosophy could not possibly have been practiced by people who were not white. Furthermore, defenders of the philosopher Immanuel Kant were attempting to rewrite the history of philosophy to show his theories as the natural progression of all that had come before. It is also interesting to note that Kant, one of the most influential philosophers of all time, was notoriously racist and actively declared non-Caucasian peoples fundamentally incapable of philosophical undertakings.

A further argument that has been made against the inclusion of non-Western philosophies in the philosophical canon is to claim that the very word ‘philosophy’ is Greek in origin and therefore can only refer to that which has derived from the Greek tradition. Again, this argument reveals a conscious effort on the part of European academics to exclude philosophy from beyond the continent from taking its rightful place in the discipline and to dismiss it as not being worthy of the sacred title of ‘philosophy’.

The issue of power concerning gender roles in economics

When analyzing our society's economic system, the issue of power is central. This can be seen through gender dynamics in economics. For centuries, power inequalities between men and woman in the economic sphere have and continue to define the mechanisms of global and national economies. Indeed, traditionally the man has been portrayed as the “bread-winner” of the family while women are meant to stay home, take care of children and fulfill domestic duties. A large pay gap still exists between men and women, illustrating that this power inequality is still topical today. Hence, gender roles are pivotal to the formation of our modern-day economic organization.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's work on gender roles in economics:

To explore this idea, we will use the work of classical feminist social theorist, Charlotte Perkins Gilman . Gilman argues that women's economic status comes from their gender-relations: “the economic status of women generally depends upon that of men”. The author explains that women are not financially independent because their livelihood depends on an unpaid service: being a housewife and a mother. “Their labor is neither given nor taken as a factor in economic exchange” . The wife is not an employee, she does not earn a salary for taking care of the house therefore her labour cannot be seen as a viable part of economic mechanisms. Moreover, although society presents a woman’s livelihood as relative to motherhood, a woman’s amount of capital is not proportional to the number of children she has, therefore: “women are not maintained in economic prosperity proportioned to their motherhood” . From Charlotte Perkins Gilman's work we can conclude that power inequalities between men and women are essential to the understanding of economics.

Preparation of food, an example of patriarchal power relations concerning economics:

Preparation of food is a symbol the power inequalities in a society founded on “sexuo-economic relation” (Gilman) for various reasons. Firstly, women exchange an unpaid service (cooking for their family) for a livelihood. Secondly, food preparation reveals “social isolation of the uninstructed and untrained woman in the patriarchal household” . Furthermore, women remain weak in market place because they are only purchasers of food: they have little power in economic functioning of society. Gilman also states that “power imbalance between women as consumers and male-dominated capitalist production leads to the variety of social and cultural problems resulting from unfettered greed". Charlotte Perkins Gilman's work makes the power inequalities in economics apparent. Many other power inequalities exist in this field, such as between races, classes, etc…

Power is therefore an important issue to be considered when studying economics because as classical feminist social theory shows us, the patriarchy and capitalism are interdependent.

Power in Acting

Acting was traditionally a male-dominated career as women were only first permitted to perform in England in the early 1660's, after the Restoration of King Charles II (this was later than in Italy and France). However, acting was still not seen to be a career for respectable women as English society still firmly believed that a woman's place was indoors and her business domestic. Even the idea of a woman having any sort of career would have been seen as abnormal. Many women believed this themselves, therefore, disapproving of the idea of female 'actors'. This discrimination against female players can be emphasised through the words of the playwright John Dryden, which happened to be the first recorded use of the word actress: 'the trade of love behind the scene, where actresses make bold with married men. With this double-edged sword I dub thee Actress and denigrate the work'

The male-dominated nature of acting can also be highlighted through the existence of different terms for the two genders: 'actor' and 'actress'. Initially, actors were known as players and actor first came into use in the late 17th century. However, actress only first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary more than a century later in the 1700's. The existence of a separate term for women emphasises the struggles women would have faced in pursuing an acting career as from the start they are distinguished as actresses rather than actors. Nowadays, many women now choose to go by 'actor' rather than actress in an attempt to make acting gender neutral.

However, the power imbalance still exists today, as can be emphasised through the gender pay gap, as economists have estimated that male Hollywood stars earn at least $1.1m more per film than their similarly experienced female co-stars. This pay gap is visible across all levels of acting careers as even A-listers such as Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence and Natalie Portman have called for 'equal pay for an equal job'. Unfortunately, this power balance extends further than just the difference in pay between men and women within the film industry as can be demonstrated through the recent sexual harassment and assault scandals. A survey has found that 94% of women employed in the American film industry have experienced sexual harassment or assault. This has been emphasised recently through the accusations against Harvey Weinstein and the creation of the #MeToo movement, highlighting that there is still a long way to go for the power balance to become equal within the acting industry.

Power in the United States Food Industry

The fast food industry in the United States generated a revenue of $200 billion in 2015. The lobbying power of large food corporations in fact parallels that of large drug companies, such as Big Pharma. As a result of growing rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases, organizations, including the Institute of Medicine, in 2009 advised that government enforce healthier regulations for school lunches. These regulations discussed capping the quantities of sodium in the foods served, increasing the amount of vegetables and fruits available and promoting the use of whole grain rather than white grain. While former President Obama highly supported changes to school lunch guidelines with the goal of improving the childrens' nutritional health, large companies producing sodium, frozen food and potato have continued to lobby to maintain loose nutritional regulation guidelines -- ensuring their profits from the school sector remain high.

In 2011, Congress passed a bill outlining how much tomato paste can be equated to one serving of vegetables.This bill granted that 'an eighth of a cut of tomato paste is credited with as much nutritional value as half a cup fo vegetables.' The type of cheap tomato paste used on frozen pizza, however, also contains large quantities of sugar and preservatives. Obama proposed an amendment to this bill, which would result in 'schools [crediting] tomato paste and puree based on actual volume as served.' This proposal was met with large opposition from food companies which recognized they would be able to sell less pizza in schools if this amendment passed. As a result of this opposition, intense lobbying in Congress meant that Obama's proposal was rejected.

This examples shows the power inequalities that exist in a capitalist economy where a government is more easily influenced by large companies who impact the nation's economic situation. Despite the recommendations of established health and medical organizations about the need to improve nutrition in children and the backing of these recommendations by President Obama, unnamed food corporations were able to deter the implementation of healthier school lunch guidelines so as to help maintain their high profits. Congress, which theoretically should have the best interest of its citizens in mind, rather than doing so in stead prioritized the wellbeing and interests of a couple wealthy companies over the wellbeing of its citizens.

Power in jugding history

Humans created the idea of society. They pictured the rules they would have to follow in order to be part of a given society. Even if humans look alike, they think differently, and their way of thinking is influenced by the society they live in. History has proven that humans did not have the power to judge other humans from another society. One of the most important proofs of this is following the second world war: the crimes committed by the Nazi regime had to be put on trial. This led to a problem: how to judge it, is it even possible to give a judge the power to reflect on what happened under different times. Many falsely believe that society is based on moralities. In fact, society is based on laws. So under certain laws, certain actions that would be considered immoral can become moral and normal. This is the case for the treatment of Jews under the Third Reich: it was seen as normal to be anti-Semitic. If this is the case, how can we judge the contributors to the Holocaust? Sure, we could pick a few of the contributors and put the trial on cameras to show the public that the deceased victims have been avenged. This wouldn´t be honest however. One way to give this power was the creation of a new type of crime: crime against humanity. This would have judged correctly Hitler´s followers. However, it is controversial as this type of crime didn´t exist until Nuremberg´s Trial in 1945/1946. Perhaps not so many Germans would have followed Hitler in his madness with the existence of this law that surpasses the laws of any society. A way of looking at it was thought by Hannah Arendt during Eichmann´s trial in 1962 in Jerusalem. Instead of judging the followers of a philosophy/ regime, it would be more relevant to judge the regime itself, whose philosophy remains the same after the loss of the war – compared to previous followers who could have reconsidered. Nevertheless, some contributors continued to follow the Nazi philosophy, like Otto Ohlendorf, an SS officer who claimed he would redo a holocaust of the Jews. It is reasonable in this case to judge him accordingly under the laws of post war Europe. It is more complicated however to judge the ones who had a change of heart after the war.

The power of Tradition in India

What is Power ?

Power can be defined as the capacity to influence the behaviour of others and the course of events. Power can be exercised by a person, a group, or a nation in mostly all fields : economic, social, technological ... The notion of power often implies a division between those who detain it and those who endure it. Power is also often balanced by counter-powers who limit the excesses. In this article, we will be talking about the power of tradition in India and more particularly How does tradition affects the status of women in society ?

Women in India are victims of Tradition

"India the most dangerous place in the world to be born a girl". Tradition makes girl feel unwanted in India. Indeed, there is a lot of discrimination against girls ranging from neglect to abuse and killing of unwanted female infants. Girls are widely regarded as a burden to Indian families who fear the high cost of their weddings. In fact, the bride's parents must pay for it at the expense of other basic needs. You'll be shock to learn that Indian females are twice as likely to die before the age of five. Unfairly, since day 1 girls destinies are pre-traced.

The status of widows in India and how tradition negatively affects their lives

In the past, traditionally, widows were burnt that is why nowadays, many conservatives Indian families see them as a liability. Once their husband dies they loose their identities and become the outcasts of society. As they are not financially independent while married, their destinies as widows is to live their lives in poverty and isolation. They are forced to beg in the streets and many of them earn a living through prostitution. Traditions are manmade and are prevalent in society due to its acceptance in the social milieu. In India, the patriarchal society has enforced wrong values towards widows. The power of tradition in India overpowers the law. Although, like in West Bengal some intents were done to change this situation by allowing remarriages, society objected. The application of legislation has been unsuccessful. To really make a difference in the longer term, traditional values will have to change and education is the key to transform and change positively a society by transmitting values and making new traditions.

The story of Rekha Kalindi, the face of a counter-power

Rekha Kalindi is a 13-year-old girl that refused to be married off and wanted to attend school instead. Even though Indian legislation makes it illegal for girls below the age of 18 to get married, once again the tradition overpowers the law, as it is common to see 10 year-old girls getting married. As it usually happens, her parents pulled her from school after they began arrangements for the wedding. She was brave when she did the unthinkable and said "no" to her parents. They withheld her food for nearly two weeks but she didn't give up and enlisted help. Pressured by the villagers and officials her parents finally conceded that she will not marry and continue to attend school. This is a great example on how a single individual, in this case a 4 feet tall humble girl, can help change society and tradition. As a matter of fact, they were no chil marriages during the past wedding season in her village. Her small act of rebellion changed her life, her village and now she hopes will change an entire nation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, tradition in Indian and across the world affects the role of women in society. Although there is progress being made, there is still a long way to go. Our generation and the next one should help building a more gender balanced society. Rekha's story should inspire us all to take actions in our own environments.

Power in Fine Art

Introduction

A painting by artist Nikolai Fechin, a critically acclaimed yet relatively unknown artist to the masses.

The issue of power is prevalent in the arts and cultural canon, not just in the west but around the world. The question of who decides what art is representative of a culture has typically rested with the aristocracy or those who hold a position of power in society. Colonialism has also resulted in the whitewashing of various cultures and many languages, literatures and pieces of art have likely been lost during colonial periods. Analysing this issue from the approach of a fine artist can cause the context surrounding the work’s curation to be overlooked, whereas a historian or anthropologist may recognise the colonial influence that makes up what is considered the popular art canon.

Art Historian Approach

An art critic or art historian will analyse the historical development of a piece of art, as well as how different techniques, processes and materials contributed to its creation. Art historians are considered the dominant academics when it comes to analysing art, however solely analysing the artwork and not focusing enough on the historical processes that were underway at the time of its creation and since its creation can fail to acknowledge why certain pieces of art are remembered and some are forgotten. By focusing on just the history of the art and not history in general, some key events that led to the canonisation and remembrance of various pieces of culture can be neglected. Despite this, the art historian is best placed to offer an insight into the processes that led to the creation of art, the materials that were available at the time and also what inspired a certain artist to create a certain piece. An art historian also can offer valuable insights into the creation and development of art movements, despite neglecting other events and cultural processes that were occurring at the time.

Anthropologist Approach

An anthropologist, particularly a social anthropologist, may consider cultural processes that led to artwork becoming canon. An anthropologist may also acknowledge colonial influences that affect culture and start to explore the whitewashing of culture and what leads to various pieces of art being remembered. By taking the focus away from the art itself and focusing on the context and history surrounding its creation and since, an anthropologist can offer a different perspective on the process of why collections become cultural canon as opposed to just focusing on the development of individual pieces.

Conclusion

Art historians are commonly considered to be the voice of authority when it comes to discussing artwork and the events surrounding their inception, and other disciplinary perspectives can be ignored and disregarded. Whilst the art historian is well positioned to analyse the processes, techniques and context behind pieces and movements, other historical processes that lead to the canonisation of certain work over others can be neglected. It is clear that by analysing the cultural canon, other perspectives are required, such as that of the anthropologist, economist and historian.

Power in Cinematography

Power in the History of Cinematography

The issue of power in Cinematography began in its very onset, when video equipment was prohibitively expensive, and is therefore only accessible to those with the financial means, which led to a very upper class and masculine worldview in its early outputs. It gave rise to the propagandistic newsreels, which served to promote nationalistic sentiments and advance the ruling elite's agendas during the world wars; still others porn oriented toward men, as there seemed to be an appetite for it that is ripe for exploiting to reap financial gains.