Der Machtaspekt - Ein kritischer Beitrag zur Alltagserfahrung The aspect of power – A critical contribution to experiences in everyday life

Power relations are commonplace and appear ubiquitously. You encounter them in the private and in the public sphere. Everyone is involved in a variety of such relationships, mostly without being aware of it. They determine our life, set limits to our development and influence our thinking and our everyday experience. Knowledge, position, money, prestige, office and dignity, access to information, the development of networks and cliques, good looks, wealth and much more are basically only convertible currencies of power. The quest for power is an unacknowledged, yet central, motive for human action. The text illuminates a kaleidoscope of power relations that we are confronted with on a daily basis. Different examples illustrate the effect of power relations in our environment. A plausible explanation for the striving for power is discussed. peerReviewed publishedVersion