59. The Legitimacy of Power

To have power over someone is to introduce a problem. Having power over another means being able to require particular actions (or inactions) from that person. But imposing particular actions means extinguishing the ability of the other to make a choice. And this is a problem.

It is precisely the freedom to choose that enables every person to live their own life and establish their values in the world. This activity of choosing and creating oneself is a primary source of one’s own value as a human being. If our ability to choose is limited through the application of power, then our humanity is also limited. By depriving us of the responsibility to choose, power also deprives us of our humanity.

Any authority that restricts our ability to choose is therefore dangerous. This is especially true when the authority itself is imposed without choice and without recourse to an alternative. Willing acceptance of a limited authority could obviate the problem, but in practice, such acceptance is neither sought nor required for existing authorities to exercise power. The lack of explicit approval or acceptance raises serious doubts about the legitimacy of such power.

Out of a desire for expediency, we tend to sweep questions about legitimacy under the rug. We assert that the authorities present in our society are legitimate because they are democratic or otherwise originate from the will of the people. But at no time is there ever any suggestion that the people have the option to choose other authorities outside our system or even other systems altogether.

Anxiety over others developing serious doubts about our existing systems and norms is often enough to stop us from considering the problem head on. But by hiding from the problem, we only lie to ourselves. To investigate power and its legitimacy is demanding and troublesome, but openness to potentially frightening alternatives is the only way towards a more wholesome respect for the humanity of all people.