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Zero Sum and Variable Sum Model of Power

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   benefiting      bourgeoisie      consensus      consent      disguised      dominating      finite      functionalism      ideological      legitimate      power      proletariat      pyramid      pyramids   
Marxism (The Zero Sum Model)
Marx believed that power in society is (in other words there’s only so much of it), and that it can only be held by one person or group at a time. This view of power is referred to as The Zero Sum Model. Marx saw society in terms of social classes competing for a finite amount of . Under capitalism the capitalist class () hold power and use it to their advantage and to the detriment of the working class ().
Marxists tend to reject the idea of authority as legitimate power suggesting that the working class are falsely persuaded to to the rule of the capitalist class. Authority is just power. This idea is very similar to Lukes' third face of power - power.
Marxists see society as a in which the capitalist class dominate the workers. Power benefits the ruling group only


Pluralism (The Variable Sum Model)
Pluralism is a non conflict perspective similar in many ways to .
The pluralist RA Dahl in his study of New Haven “Who Governs?” (1961) found that instead of one elite group society and hogging all the power, there were actually “multiple centres of power”. In other words lots of little or interest groups competing for power. Pluralists also tend to see power as something that is not finite. How much power there is in society can grow and diminish depending on how many people see it as . This is referred to as, The Variable Sum Model.
Pluralists see power as something dispersed through society which could have the potential of society in general (not just one class)