Power, Persuasion and Justice

Modern conceptions of power tend to emphasise the material basis of power, do not adequately distinguish between power and influence, and generally divorce the analysis and application of power from ethical considerations. The ancient Greeks were sensitive to the social basis of power, and how its exercise might strengthen or weaken the personal or communal bonds on which enduring influence rested. They distinguished between power exercised through persuasion, which strengthened those bonds, and power that relied on coercion, bribery and deceit, which weakened those bonds. Greek concepts, and the rich lexicon in which they are rooted, provide the basis for a critique of contemporary conceptions of power, discourse and American hegemony.

(Source: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03058298050330031501?icid=int.sj-related-articles.similar-articles.4)