Power is productive of effects. It is a component of social space--a status. And in conjunction with wealth, it can generate antagonism. So much has been discussed.
Power as productive of effects has had sufficient meaning to carry the burden of my discussion of status. However, power in relation to class and politics, and especially to the process of social conflict, is a far more complex and subtle concept than this definition would imply. Accordingly, the purpose of this and the subsequent chapter, Chapter 20, is to unfold the meaning of power, to get beneath power as producing an effect, in a way to facilitate our later understanding of class and conflict. This means that I will deal with the ontology of power in a way probably unfamiliar to the reader. But this will lead to a better understanding of power as having an effect upon reality, especially when this raises the question as to what kind of effect and on what reality. Answering these two questions will lead us to a very useful and practical discrimination among a variety powers.
