With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
Introduction
- Indian Hindu mythology is filled with stories of powerful demonic figures such as Hiranyakashipu, Ravana, and Kans, who met their ends because they exercised their power irresponsibly.
- Power is the ability of a person to do or make someone do something with or without the consent of the person upon whom the act is being carried out.
- Responsibility is an obligation or duty towards someone or something. It also involves a component of penalty upon failure to fulfil the responsibility.
- It is important to appreciate that the relation between power and responsibility is complex and there cannot be a straightforward cause and effect relationship between the two.
- Main argument of the essay: Power brings various responsibilities, which need to be carried our by the concerned person after carefully understanding the context and implications.
Body
- One needs to understand that there are different types of power. These can be categorized as coercive power, referent power, expert power, legitimate power, reward power, etc.
- Relationship between power and responsibility
- Historical context of rajdharma-Even kings who enjoyed all kinds of power in ancient times were responsible for the safety of their subjects; even in aristocracy this was held to be true, For example, Chanakya’s reference to it in the Arthashastra.
- Vivekananda refers to this concept when he calls those people traitors who are well-educated but do not pay heed to the weaker sections of the society; similarly, he says for rich people. The underlying principle being people who have acquired power, i.e. , knowledge (expert power) or economic power, ought to help the poor.
- Buddha when enlightened and blessed with power in the form of knowledge and expertise realized his responsibility and decided to spread the knowledge he had acquired.
Social context
- Castes/groups that have acquired power (in various forms) hold the responsibility to take the downtrodden along. This is reflected in the reservation policy of the government and the values enshrined in our Constitution.
- Political power, when used irresponsibly can lead to events such as genocide, which still haunts humanity. However, people like Nelson Mandela have shown us the responsible use of political power. Mandela implored his countrymen to show restraint from violence against the minority white population when apartheid in South Africa was finally brought to an end.
- In schools, teachers hold power over their pupils, especially when it comes to reaching them values and moulding their ideologies. Teachers can contribute to making their students aware and compassionate citizens only by exercising their power responsibly rather than swaying young minds towards radical ideologies.
Ecological context
- The human race has acquired power over other beings through technological achievements and scientific progress. Now we have the responsibility to conserve the earth. Lack of such understanding is reflected in alterations such as climate change and endangered species.
- This also holds when we talk about differentiated responsibilities such as in the case of climate change. The US, being more powerful (technologically, economically), can assume greater responsibility to counter this global threat.
International context
- Countries such as the USA and UK, which have acquired power over the years, should now exercise greater responsibility to counter global threats such as terrorism.
- Organizations such as the World Bank and WHO should extend a helping hand to underdeveloped countries so that poverty is reduced. In this context, India also helps the least developed countries (LDCs) by signing favourable trade treaties.
- Nuclear power acquired by countries demands an all-the more responsible attitude. Otherwise the consequences are dire and can spell doom for the entire human race.
Counter-arguments
- The power-responsibility argument used to justify exploitation: ‘White man’s burden’ in the name of responsibility arising out of power acquired (through industrial revolution, expert power, economic power, etc.), the Europeans colonized and exploited many countries.
- This argument does not always hold in international relations: Arguably, self-assumed responsibility by world powers such as the USA under the euphemism of responsibility to protect was used to invade Libya. Similar was the case during the Iraq invasion. Selfrestraint is important in these cases.
- A one-to-one relationship is difficult to establish and even more difficult to enforce. Bureaucratic and political power has complex undertones when related to accountability and responsibility. However, difficulty in establishing and enforcing does not mean that the responsibility does not exist. More robust mechanisms are needed to fix this.
Conclusion
- Having power inevitably means that there is need to have a sense of responsibility while exercising it by taking into account different contexts and implications of actions.
- History is abundant with examples of how irresponsible use of power can lead to doom and destruction.
- The relationship between power and responsibility applies to all spheres of life, whether it is the economy, politics, social relations, or foreign affairs.
- Although the relationship between power and responsibility may not be clear in all situations, all exercise and assumption of power should begin with the understanding that with great power, comes great responsibility.
Notes
• Keywords: power, responsibility
• Your idea or understanding of these two concepts should come out clearly from the essay text.