Power Emerges When We Act Together

Publisher's Note: Trumpism has upended American democracy in large measure by dominating the attention of supporters and opponents alike. It will succeed to the extent that it exhausts our capacity to imagine a new civic future. The intent of this newsletter is to provide an antidote to our exhaustion through a short daily reflection and a space for discussion to reclaim the heart of our democracy and imagine a better future for all. This week's theme is Turning Our Attention.

“Power springs up between people when they act together and vanishes the moment they disperse.”
— Hannah Arendt

Democracy falters when citizens are conditioned to express themselves but not to organize. Outrage replaces coordination. Identity replaces solidarity. We feel powerful while remaining ineffective. History only changes when enough people decide that the present arrangement is no longer livable, and they summon the power of collective action.

We live in an age that confuses influence and power. Influence can be broadcast, monetized, and held aloof. Real power cannot. The German-American political philosopher Hannah Arendt explained that real power emerges when people bind themselves to a shared purpose and act together. “Power springs up between people when they act together and vanishes the moment they disperse,” she said.

Individuals can exert influence, but they do not have power by themselves. Real power is the force that emerges when a community comes together and acts in concert.

The image above is from American painter Jacob Lawrence’s sixty-panel "The Migration Series," and captures an ineffable sense of this emergent power. The series portrays scenes from the Great Migration during the early- and mid-20th century in which five million African Americans moved from the Southern United States to cities in the Northeast, Midwest and West due to poor economic and social conditions created by the region's racist Jim Crow laws. There is not a singular focus to the image, it portrays coordinated courage: families deciding, communities moving, people enduring together. Despite their alienation, the image captures a spirit of collective dignity and perseverance. It is the quiet agency found in the presence of others.

This is the agency that animates churches, mutual-aid groups, school boards, neighborhood associations and worker collectives. These are the unglamorous sites where real power is nurtured and preserved for future use.

Real power cannot be claimed or granted, it is grown between us.

1. Hannah Arendt, "On Violence" (1970).
2. Jacob Lawrence, "The Migration Series" (1940-41). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

COMING TOMORROW: Difference Is Democracy’s Raw Material