In the previous post, risk was shown to be intrinsic to interpersonal meaning.
But risk is not evenly distributed.
Some actors can speak with little exposure. Others risk sanction, dismissal, or exclusion simply by articulating a construal.
This asymmetry is not accidental.
It is the effect of power.
Power without representation
Power is often treated as something held, intended, or exercised through explicit commands.
Within this framework, power appears differently.
Power operates by shaping readiness:
amplifying some inclinations,
dampening others,
expanding some abilities,
constricting others.
No meanings need be imposed.
Unequal inclination
Value systems do not act uniformly.
Some actors are supported in their inclinations:
their urgency is recognised,
their persistence rewarded,
their initiatives protected.
Others encounter resistance:
hesitation is induced,
persistence punished,
withdrawal encouraged.
These differences are not matters of belief.
They are differences in how the field responds.
Unequal ability
Meaning systems are also unevenly accessible.
Some actors have:
greater access to recognised forms of articulation,
familiarity with dominant genres and registers,
histories of successful uptake.
Others possess construals that are:
fragile,
marginal,
difficult to sustain in circulation.
Ability is relationally granted and withdrawn.
Who gets to mean
To “get to mean” is not simply to speak.
It is to have one’s articulations:
taken up,
responded to,
allowed to persist.
Power determines which readiness alignments are supported.
Meaning itself does not change — its viability does.
Silence revisited
Under unequal readiness, silence takes on a different shape.
For some actors, silence is optional.
For others, it is structurally induced.
The risk of actualisation is too high.
This is not lack of courage.
It is accurate calibration to an uneven field.
Why this matters
Understanding power as unequal readiness allows us to:
explain dominance without ideology critique,
explain marginalisation without pathologising,
explain exclusion without invoking hidden rules.
Power structures the field in which meaning is attempted.
Looking ahead
If power shapes readiness unevenly, then social practices can also cultivate or redistribute readiness.
The final post will examine how practices such as education, art, and ritual work not by transmitting meanings or values, but by shaping the field of readiness itself.
Post 7: Cultivating Readiness — Education, Art, and the Social Engineering of Potential will close the series.
No comments:
Post a Comment