Power and Its Sources in The Spectator 1711
In the set The spectator 1711, power is imagined to emanate from different sources. The argument that power is an aspect of politics is qualified by the consistency drawn from the political arena. It doesn’t go without a say that religion is also believed to be source of power. The imagination is true is since the conservative political party comes to play as a source of power. Power in the set is face by rebellion, Rebellion is depicted in the as a tool used to oppose those in the political positions. From the political view in the book, it is clear that the Tories is portrayed as ‘a thorn in the foot of the people’ and should not be running the government (Joseph and John, 101).
The Role of Religion and Politics in Power
The author of the set The Spectator 1711, Joseph Addison is originally from England and lived in the eighteenth century, has portrayed the authorities as having been pegged on the religion, politics and in the people. The authority vests on the people as is observed when the character, Mr. Spectator, clearly depicts the fact that he gets moved by mingling with people on authorities like ministers of finance who transact great financial activities with them. People can make a difference especially if they take part in what they term benevolent. Mr. Spectator portrays the ability to take part in a fruitful and powerful negotiation and as a citizen; he proves that people have authority. During the time of Addison, The church was very powerful; in fact, The church gave guidance to the monarch. The only one and powerful church then was The Church of England (Joseph and John, 86). The monarch upheld the proceedings and the teachings of the Anglican church. Religion proves to have authority in the eighteenth century. Those who were not in power during this time were those who did not accept the teachings of the Church of England. The people who were considered not powerful belonged to the Roman Catholic besides the protestants. Ironically, some Anglicans criticized the Anglican church alleging that the church did not help the poor or encourage the need.
Hierarchy and Religious Divide in Power Dynamics
On one hand the societies are hierarchically obtain power; on the other hand Power can be obtained depending on the religious divide one belongs to. For instance, those who are on the side of Anglican church were a bit lucky because even the monarch upheld and borrowed from the doctrines that the church upheld. Tories is portrayed to be a bad leader and should be opposed and this clearly shows that one gets power from a particular vessel vested with power in this society (Joseph 205).
Attaining Power in Society
Mr. Spectator influence his way up the authority when he undertakes great financial transactions with the ministers of finance. To obtain power in this particular society one has to be very firm and influential. The author undermines power, in fact he disapproves the fact that only those in power, those at the pinnacle of authorities get what they need. During Augustan age, there were booming businesses and it never mattered whether the businessmen were at the helm of authorities or not. One could still flourish in their business without being powerful in line of politics, religion or monarch.
Power, Class, and Social Identity
Power defines class and those at the pinnacle of authorities at have a high social class. If one lacks power they are not in a good position to influence events. In other words, power has a lot of advantages. One gains very noble social identity when in power, Sir Roger who was a member of the Spectator club gained a high social stature because he was a leader. He is above all, a central spokesman to be specific. Sir Andrew Freeport was a lawyer and clergyman as well. The clergy at that time were said to have some power. In one way or the other power placed them at the top of social status in the society. Those who never had the power were dimmed poor. In fact, the Anglican church was accused of not helping the poor in the society. The poor never had power and they belonged to a lower class in the social ladder. It is also worth noting that most of the people in authority were men. Men were treated as first class citizens because most of them were learned and had businesses in the society.
The Different Concepts of Power
Concepts of power change a great deal in the Spectator. Power is on one hand portrayed as benevolent especially when one gets to associate with the people in power and get to benefit out the association. For instance, Mr. Spectator benefits a great deal from the associations with the several ministers. Power becomes much unpredicted when Tories is said not to be a good leader in the government. The Anglican church is portrayed to have power over other churches and this makes it almost looks like it is the most perfect church in the society but as irony has it, the best church is accused of not supporting the needy in the society. Therefore, power has taken different courses across the entire book.
The Connection Between Power and Violence
Foucault Michel talked about the far that power and violence marry. It is true that power yields violence because with power comes malice and contempt. Those on authorities look down upon those that they term, their subjects. Mr. Spectator himself alludes to the fact that the church with authority could not help the poor. Even though this is not physical violence, it shows how when power sets in, discrimination shows off.
Approaching Power through Cost and Intensity
According to Foucault, cost and intensity are the main concepts through which power can be approached. The two are very productive compared to violence which Foucault says is unproductive. It is very true that with violence even the people in the spectator could only persevere. Perseverance is the only way that the oppressed use to withstand violence. Therefore, there is much connection that power has with violence in history which can only be well seen when political rationalities are well taken care of. There are a lot of works in Spectator that hugely challenge Foucault's thesis. If power is connected to violence then why don't we see the several ministers fight Mr. Spectator who mingles with them and even does businesses with them without failure when Mr. Spectator is a mere citizen.
Power and Its Perception in The Spectator
The main challenge again with the thesis of Foucault is the fact that those at the helm of power like Tories are only accused of being bad leaders but violence is never arraigned on them like the thesis suggests. All in all, the power according to The Spectator has different concepts as the story builds and towards the end it converges with Foucault’s thesis.
Works Cited
Addison, Joseph, and John R. Green. Addison's Essays. Rockville, Md.?: Wildside, 2010. Print.
ADDISON, JOSEPH. Spectator, 1711. S.l.: FORGOTTEN BOOKS, 2016. Print.
