Friday, June 12, 2020
People with power often don't recognize they have so much of it; and people seeking to change "the system" don't realize who could actually help them do it, because they don't know who has the power and how powerful they really are.
Take, for example, changing the admission of students to grad school: the power to do that lies mainly with the graduate committee, made up of about 4 people; and the chair of the committee is usually some very influential person (there are about 5 in our department), who basically sets the agenda. Yes, there are "guidelines" to follow, but the chair has some leeway in how to interpret them. And the other 3 committee members will very likely go along with what he or she says.
But to an outsider of this process, it looks like the whole department is making a decision. I suppose they *did* in deciding whom to elect to the committee; but, really, the power is concentrated in a small number of people -- and the decisions reflect that. (I sort of get the image of Jeff Bezos inside the giant robot -- a little man in a big machine. Have you seen that piecture?)
So, if I were someone wishing to change the direction of the department, in regards to admissions, and I had significant clout (influence), I would probably just contact the chair of the committee, and let them know how I felt.
Now, concerning the other thing I wrote, that the powerful don't recognize they are powerful: if one were to complain that one is not being heard, or is powerless, they would just shrug, and say, "Well, why don't you just do something about it?" To them it's that simple. They are not self-conscious in the least, and do not hesitate to speak their minds -- and they are heard, and their influence, felt. They just can't imagine why someone wouldn't do the same; and even take it as evidence that the person doesn't *really* care about the issue -- because if they cared, they would "do something about it", like them.
The powerful also exercise power in other ways, instinctually, and perhaps don't recognize they are powerful as a result; though, to others, what they do might seem Machiavellian. For example, let's say someone powerful wants to persuade others to take a look at a file on the hiring committee. They might involve someone else in their email, without soliciting the person's approval first. They might say, "I think this candidate has similar interests as Ernie, and would be good for him." The way this sounds to *me* is: "I want this candidate here, and I'm going to try to convince you that they are a good fit by involving Ernie, who I have not emailed about them." But if you point out how blantlantly manipulative it is, they would probably have a secret chat about how "obstructionist" you're being; and it may actually be what they feel, strangely enough!
And they do it so well, and are so good at pitching it with logic in lawyerly fashion, that other people don't even notice that influence is being leveraged. By "logic" here I mean something like this: they carefully make a case, with bullet points, why it's such a good idea to hire their candidate. In fact, they may make 10 cases, whereas the typical person makes only 1. The committee looking at that says, yes, look what he's brought to the department; and the prizes; and where the group has accomplished; and so on. They become dazzled by the accomplishment and power; and so the powerful become even *more* powerful.
At the end of the day, the reward for power is more power. But it's kind of invisible, both to people seeking change and to the powerful, themselves.