What is power? Is it, as Betrand Russell suggested, "the production of intended effects", or is it the capacity to produce them? And which effects count? Or is Max Weber's definition of power as "the probability that an actor in a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance" more accurate. What are the outcomes of power and who holds it? These are some of the fundamental questions answered in this colection of classic views of power. Steven Luke's lucid and accessible introduction on the nature of power leads to pieces by Bertrand Russell, Max Weber, Robert Dahl, Hannah Arendt, Jurgen Habermas, Talcott Parsons, Nicos Polantzas, Alvin I. Goldman, Georg Simmel, J. K. Galbraith, Michel Foucault, Gerhard Lenski and Raymond Aron. The book thus provides students of politics and sociology with all the most important readings in a key area of political theory.

About the Author
Steven Lukes is a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford and the author of several books, including Power: A Radical View.


Book Information
ISBN 9780814750315
Author Steven Lukes
Format Paperback
Page Count 283
Imprint New York University Press
Publisher New York University Press