----- Original Message ----- From: "Catherine Driscoll" <catherine.driscoll at adelaide.edu.au>
> Accepting the possibility that I and everyone I know have completely
warped
> love lives and other relations of care -- these all involve power and
yes even
> in the sense of power over... we can help, harm, betray, support,
manipulate,
> influence, seduce, distract, monitor, belittle, dismiss, praise, ignore,
value,
> and so on and on those we love, care, or are responsible for. Even at
that
> level those relations not only rely on the power over someone and/or a
> situation but are power. Just because it doesn't go only one way doesn't
mean
> it's not power. Power isn't defined by abuse of power.
>
> Catherine
=========================
Of course we can. I was merely noting how often we deliberately/unwittingly forgo those dispositions. We're all capable of being all-jerks-all-the time. Spending more time exploring what comes through in our lives when we unselfconsciously forego the capabilities of performing those behaviours you list creates the opportunity for creating social spaces-times where power is absent. We should no more turn power into a sociological absolute than turn love into a sociological absolute. I don't think we could even if we tried.
Ian