|
| |
A power imbalance is an environment, relationship or interaction where one party has far more social power than the other. This places accountability on the stronger party to act ethically such that they don't take unfair advantage of their position. The following are illustrative examples.
AuthorityAuthority such as the authority of a teacher over students. For example, if a teacher asks a student to do them a favor by going to a nearby restaurant to pick up the teacher's lunch, the student may feel compelled by their authority to comply. As such, this may not be a fair request such that it is unethical or questionable. If power were more balanced, such as a teacher-to-teacher situation such a request becomes reasonable.
Legal ResourcesLegal resources such as a technology company that has a team of talented lawyers draw up user and customer contracts. In this case, the user or consumer may have no capacity to understand the agreement at any depth. Likewise, the consumer isn't in a position to negotiate the agreement and may have few choices whereby legal agreements may be similar or there may be a monopoly for a particular product or service with no choice whatsoever. In this case, it is questionable for the more powerful side to place aggressive terms in the agreement. If power were more balanced, such as agreements between large firms, contracts can be viewed as truly accepted by both sides.
PartnersSmall partners of larger firms have a power imbalance such that they may have little leverage to negotiate. For example, a freelancer who works according to contracts, processes, rules and algorithms dictated by a large firm. In this case the freelancer is a "partner" but may have no power over such agreements other than to accept or be unemployed. As such, placing excessive demands in these agreements may be questionable. Where a partner is a similar size, agreements can be viewed as negotiated and accepted by parties that are both empowered.
Overwhelming PowerOverwhelming power such as the power of a state over the individual whereby a nation has military, police, administrative and legal powers that are significant. This can be balanced with a system of rights and freedoms whereby the individual can use the state itself to defend oneself from the state. For example, if a representative of a government acts unreasonably towards you, you may be able to seek justice from a legal system or oversight body. Where this doesn't exist -- unprofessional or unethical behavior will go unchallenged.|
| Type | | | Definition | An environment, relationship or interaction where one party has far more social power than the other. | | Related Concepts | |
Social Power
This is the complete list of articles we have written about social power.
If you enjoyed this page, please consider bookmarking Simplicable.
The definition of social power with examples.
The definition of social capital with examples.
A list of social forces.
An overview of symbolic interactionism with examples.
A overview of social processes with examples.
The definition of social position with examples.
An overview of social order with examples.
The definition of society with examples.
An overview of social conditions with examples.
A list of contemporary issues.
An overview of the importance of culture.
The definition of shared meaning with examples.
An overview of the importance of society with examples and counterarguments.
An a-z list of things in cities.
An a-z list of social problems.
An overview of social identity.
TrendingThe most popular articles on Simplicable in the past day.
Recent posts or updates on Simplicable.
Site Map
© 2010-2023 Simplicable. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of materials found on this site, in any form, without explicit permission is prohibited.
View credits & copyrights or citation information for this page.
|
