Power: A radical view. An original and controversial view of power

In this paper, I try to identify some of the reasons for the great and enduring success of Lukes’s book Power: A Radical View. Its popularity stems from the fact that it represents a highly original position that is far removed from all popular ones. Indeed, on the one hand, liberals perceive in Lukes’ notion of objective interests a deep Marxian and Gramscian echo. On the other hand, followers of Foucault saw in Lukes’ work an excessive attachment to the notion of responsibility and an overly individualistic view. In the end, the book’s main merits lie in (a) its ability to combine normative posture, theoretical robustness, and empirical applicability; (b) constituting a general theory of social power applicable to fields other than politics, and (c) its exceptional contribution to the sociology of conflict.