Abstract

With the help of examples and accounts of historical cases, this by now classic synthesis describes the universal traits of power, a phenomenon present in all forms of human sociality. Four basic anthropological forms of coercion are identified: power to offend, instrumental power, power of authority, and the power to change the world through technical action. The author gives an account of power relations both from the point of view of those who exercise it and those who are subjected to it, reconstructing their genealogy from formation to consolidation and decline. The book, edited by Sergio Cremaschi with an Introduction to the Italian edition by Gianfranco Poggi, has been translated from German by Paolo Volonté. Original ed.: Phanomene der Macht: Autoritat - Herrschaft - Gewalt - Technik; Prozesse der Machtbildung, Tubingen : Mohr, 1986.