What is Power?

“Power is the ability to do or act; the capability of doing or accomplishing something” is the definition stated by Dictionary.com. The list of definitions goes on and on but I really think this first definition really says it all. Putting the definition in my own words I would say that power is the ability to choose and control the life of oneself and or the lives of other people through many different aspects such as politics, economy, and personal life. As I said before the three main topics I am going to explain are power in politics, economy, and personal life.

First off politics, politics can be great and it can be horrible. Politics and high government jobs can give so much power to people it can be very dangerous. One example is the Second World War and their outcomes. So much power was given to Hitler that he was able to take an entire nation under his one control and do with it as he saw fit. Second politics lets people decide if o their country is going to take over a neighboring country and steal or help that country. I really put this point in here to help my next point of the ability to change lifestyles. When the British marched into India and many other countries they enforced their own lifestyle, religion, and many other aspects of life upon that nation. They changed the way people lived and made a living which leads to my next topic Economy.

Economy is a major player in dishing out lots of the worlds power. It can place a massive amount of power on one person one day and then take it away and distribute it somewhere else. My first point is the Industrial Revolution; this one event created many millionaires, countries, and businesses that have had some of the most power in the history of the world. One example is Carnegie Steel; this one company was the leading producer and supplier for most of the world’s steel in that time. The industrial revolution also as stated earlier created many of the world’s millionaires/ billionaires and with money usually comes some power along with it. Capitalism is my second example that economy gives large amounts of power but capitalism spreads the power a bit more equally but not perfectly. It allows people to try and gain as much power as they can get. But they can also crash and have nothing left. My last example communism has a very different affect it spreads all power so equally that in the end no one really has any power. This can both be good and bad. It can be good because no one can do anything to downgrade anyone else but it can be bad because no one can do anything if something very horrible happens and someone with a lot of power is supposed to deal with it.

My last point of power is the power over personal lives. Power is the main factor for someone to be able to run their own life. If no one had any power over themselves than we would be able to wake up in the morning and do anything someone else would have to tell us to do it. My second example is the kind of job someone gets. If someone has no power over their life then they could end up doing something completely worthless to themselves and or to society. Power is an essential that is needed in everyone’s life to have a normal life and to live the life that they want to live.

So overall I believe that power is the ability to choose and control your own life and or the lives of others. I proved this through showing the power given and taken by politics, economies, and life. Where would we be without power?