Power: Three Dimensions w/ Dr. Steven Lukes

In this episode, we start to add nuance to our understanding of power by investigating the three dimensions of power, as identified by Dr. Steven Lukes. Dr. Lukes, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at New York University, joins us for the conversation and walks us through his understanding of decision-making power, agenda-setting power, and ideological power. He encourages us to look more deeply into how pervasive and nuanced power can be.

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Dr. Steven Lukes is the author of numerous books and articles about political and social theory. Currently, he is a professor emeritus of sociology at New York University. He was formerly a fellow in politics and sociology at Balliol College, Oxford. He was then, in turn, a professor of political and social theory at the European University Institute, Florence, of moral philosophy at the University of Siena and of sociology at the London School of Economics.

His interests include political sociology, focusing on the study of power; political theory and philosophy; Marxism and other socialist traditions; philosophy of the social sciences; the history of ideas, in particular the political thought of Condorcet; political humour and satire; and, most recently, the sociology of morals, his current preoccupation.

Lukes’s best-known, still controversial academic theory is his so-called ‘radical’ view of power. It can be simply stated. It claims there are three dimensions of power. The first is overt power, typically exhibited in the presence of conflict in decision-making situations, where power consists in winning, that is prevailing over another or others. The second is covert power, consisting in control over what gets decided, by ignoring or deflecting existing grievances. And the third is the power to shape desires and beliefs, thereby averting both conflict and grievances. It is the most hidden from view—the least accessible to observation by social actors and observers alike. It can be at work, despite apparent consensus between the powerful and the powerless.

He is a member of the editorial board of the European Journal of Sociology and a fellow of the British Academy.

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Dr. Lukes has written widely on power from a number of perspectives, but these publications provide a useful introduction to his scholarship addressing the topic:

Lukes, S. (2021). Power: A radical view. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Lukes, S. (Ed.). (1986). Power (Vol. 2). NYU Press.

Lukes, S. (2005). Power and the Battle for Hearts and Minds. Millennium, 33(3), 477-493.

Lukes, S. (2006). Individualism. ECPr Press.

The Social Science for Public Good Podcast is a project of the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance and VT Publishing intended to make social science theories accessible and available to individuals and organizations seeking to promote social change.

Music: Purple-planet.com