Some reflections on the power to/power over debate

Among the most prominent and interesting issues discussed by students of power is the conceptual divide between power to and power over. The discussion of this topic has been revived in an exchange between Pamela Pansardi and Peter Morriss hosted in the pages of the Journal of Political Power. Pansardi defended a strong position which involved denying the usefulness – if not the logical possibility – of distinguishing between power to and power over. In his reply, Morriss defended the distinction by pointing out a pertinence argument in support of his own favoured way of distinguishing between the two concepts. Unfortunately, the exchange between the two authors was inconclusive. In this paper, I discuss the merits and limits of the two proposals and I put forward an intermediate position which, I hope, adds some clarity to the debate over the two conceptions of power.