Types of power

Power may be held through:

• Delegated authority (for example in the democratic process)
• Social class (material wealth can equal power)
• Personal or group charisma
• Ascribed power (acting on perceived or assumed abilities, whether these bear testing or not)
• Expertise (Ability, Skills) (the power of medicine to bring about health; another famous example would be "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" - Desiderius Erasmus)
• Persuasion (direct, indirect, or subliminal)
• Knowledge (granted or withheld, shared or kept secret)
• Money (financial influence, control of labour, control through ownership, etc)
• Fame
• Force (violence, military might, coercion).
• Moral persuasion (including religion)
• Operation of group dynamics (such as public relations)
• Social influence of tradition (compare ascribed power)
• In relationships; domination/submissiveness

JK Galbraith summarises the types of power as being "Condign" (based on force), "Compensatory" (through the use of various resources) or "Conditioned" (the result of persuasion), and their sources as "Personality" (individuals), "Property" (their material resources) and "Organizational" (whoever sits at the top of an organisational power structure). (Galbraith, An Anatomy of Power)

All forms of Power fall under one of two possible sub-headings.

• Aggressive (forceful)
• Manipulative (persuasion)