Thursday, December 7, 2017

Love and Power


From a modified Facebook entry

image from
First we had, brutally and simply, "power."

Then we got -- a not-so-clear contrast to "hard power" -- "soft power." It was followed by "smart power."

And now we have -- sharpen your pencils, alpha fe/males -- "sharp power."

Perhaps one sunny day we'll magically rediscover what has existed all along: love, or "what is this thing called love." 

Doesn't love go far beyond "the ability to alter the behavior of others to get what you [JB emphasis] want" -- the definition of power by Harvard Professor, ex-Department of Defense functionary Joseph Nye Jr.?

My main question: Isn't love (if it can be defined) about sharing ourselves, rather than getting what you (me, me first) want?

Simplification/paradox: The love of power is not the power of love.




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