So let’s talk about power
So let’s talk about power. Do you feel uncomfortable - I admit I do: but why should this be the case? We usually believe that to change things, it takes power and we usually view power being in the purview of governments, institutions and organisations but it doesn’t have to be this way. We talk about powerful people, but are they powerful by virtue of their position, personality, politics, or persuasion (or all of these)? Is power really a finite resource and is it right to think that the only way to obtain power is to get from someone else/ another place or are there opportunities to grow our own power sources?
The last few months have shown that in many communities where there is a vacuum, relationships and trusted partners have assumed power in the interim. If power is the ability to make something happen, or indeed prevent it, who has been doing this in local neighbourhoods?
Many of us have power that we don’t realise or recognise - within our relationships, our family dynamic, our local communities, our workplaces, our activities and within our friendship circles. So how can we grow and share this, particularly with people and individuals who believe they are powerless?
As I write this piece the arguments about Black Lives Matter and discussions about institutional, structural and other forms of racism are swirling and becoming key areas of activity and discussion. There have been previous attempts to remove the statue of Colston in Bristol, going through the formal and informal routes, but people took power into their own hands and made it happen.
But at the same time, I’m also moved by the recent words of Alex Smith from The Cares Family, “Power when challenged, seldom opens up; when scared it doubles down”. You can look to the USA to see how this is happening.
We are at a very dangerous time when traditional and conventional power is being challenged. The international and globalised world is being challenged by nationalism and turning inwards/protectionism. There are different views on economics with the ‘let’s get things moving and back to where we were’ crew being challenged by those of us who see a need for change and more equity in our world. We shouldn’t forget that the Old Normal wasn’t a good place for the majority of people and communities.
So where do we start - I think the SMF (Sheila McKechnie Foundation) power sharing project which has produced the power grid is really helpful. It examines different types of power - informal to formal, community to institutional, individual to societal, and public to service. Power is messy and complex, but we need to look behind the magic curtain to see who is pulling the levers, what they are made from and whether the effect works.
It’s not unusual for those of us who don’t work in the private sector to take a moral high ground. However we have also seen the negative impact of various forms of the state, particularly with people whose voices aren’t heard - looked after children (I hate this term), asylum seekers and refugees, homeless people, people with learning disabilities, people with physical disabilities, people with mental health issues, people on benefits and others. This list includes several million UK citizens, yet we talk about the ‘disempowered’ without recognising it is our state which is doing this. Within the not-for profit sector we shouldn’t be so congratulatory, #charitysowhite #metoo, claims of bullying and harassment, and the behaviour of some trustees and executive staff have highlighted examples of abuse of power.
Voluntary organisations and community groups are set up when people recognise there is need for something to happen, something has gone wrong, something needs to change, something is needed to bring people with similar characteristics together or something needs to be provided. Initially it is the people who are most affected who are involved, but sometimes as organisations grow and the structures change, they lose this connection and end up running a business, with minimal connection to the initial cause and values.
I like the word beneficiary, but I know that others don’t as it is perceived as hierarchical, but service user is cold and objective, and ‘people and communities most affected by what we do’, is somewhat of a mouthful. Often my work involves bringing people together as the decision-making bit (the powerful) is not doing what others think they should be doing. So clearly transparency and accountability is important with power structures. Sadly scrutiny in government (local and national) structures is often used as a mechanism for party political revenge, rather than genuinely examining a decision.
Within the Big Picture of Government in the UK, from an English perspective, I see local government calling for more devolution (transfer of power and resources) as we have one of the most centralised government structures in Europe. However there are also loud voices from communities shouting the transfer of power from Whitehall to Town Hall isn’t enough. So how do we achieve a better spread of power, which is undermined by equity, diversity and fairness? Most of us wouldn’t want power in the hands of the zealots who are unrepresentative, non-accountable, but are great at turning up to meetings.
Power is clearly too easy to hoard and hold onto. We don’t want to share it as we don’t trust people to do as we would wish; but it’s very uncomfortable, and indeed dangerous, to be people and communities who are ‘done to’.
So it’s beholden on all of us to be aware of our own power, to learn to share it and be accountable, to think of the organisations we engage with through work or in a voluntary capacity and put it through these tests, and use our political power to act for change.
Sally Young is a social activist in the North East of England. She has worked with and for the voluntary and community sector for many years.
