Summary of How to understand power - Eric Liu
Power is a fundamental aspect of civic life and understanding it is crucial for being effective and not being taken advantage of.
- Power is the ability to make others do what you want them to do and can come from various sources such as physical force, wealth, state action, social norms, ideas, and numbers.
- Power is always either accumulating or decaying, flows like water, and compounds over time.
- To become more powerful in public life, one should learn to read and write power, understand power dynamics, believe in their ability to create change, and practice expressing themselves and organizing others.
The ultimate question is whether one wants power to benefit everyone or just themselves, which speaks to their character as a citizen.
Speakers/sources
- Eric Liu
Notable Quotes
— 01:32 — « There are six main sources of civic power. »
— 03:13 — « Law number one: power is never static. It's always either accumulating or decaying in a civic arena. »
— 03:41 — « Policymaking is an effort to freeze and perpetuate a particular flow of power. »
— 04:09 — « What rules do we set up so that a few people don't accumulate too much power, and so that they can't enshrine their privilege in policy? »
— 05:42 — « As with any kind of writing, you learn to express yourself, speak up in a voice that's authentic. »
Category
Educational