Empowerment and Public Diplomacy

A buzzword of the current US administration is "empowerment" (see the Public Diplomacy Press Review for innumerable examples, including, most recently, of the USG supporting more women in sports).

A repetitive guru, Joseph Nye, Jr., endlessly talks about "soft power," a term much uttered these days, including by potential "enemies" of America, specifically China.

By the way, "smart power," evidently "soft power" on steroids, seems to be a la mode in the Washington, DC beltway.

I guess the point is that power is ok if it's soft or, especially, smart ("public diplomacy"). Like, whatever, you know what I mean; tweet me.

But still: Power, power, power ... Can we human beings not specify how we, temporary passengers on planet earth, should get along in the 21st century with a better word/concept than power, no matter what adjective ("soft," "smart") supposedly softens/smarterns it?