--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A preoccupation with power - black power…" description: "\"“A preoccupation with power - black power, student power, flower power, poor power, 'the power structure' - is the striking aspect of the American poli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/carey-mcwilliams-86014_anarchy_a-preoccupation-with-power-black-power-s_728072.jpg" --- # A preoccupation with power - black power, student power… ![“A preoccupation with power - black power, student power, flower power, poor power, 'the power structure' - is the striking aspect of the American political scene at the moment. Oddly enough, obsession with power goes hand in hand with a fear of power. Some of the New Left groups that talk the…” quote by Carey McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/carey-mcwilliams-86014_anarchy_a-preoccupation-with-power-black-power-s_728072.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/carey-mcwilliams-86014_anarchy_a-preoccupation-with-power-black-power-s_728072.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/carey-mcwilliams-86014_anarchy_a-preoccupation-with-power-black-power-s_728072.jpg) > ““A preoccupation with power - black power, student power, flower power, poor power, 'the power structure' - is the striking aspect of the American political scene at the moment. Oddly enough, obsession with power goes hand in hand with a fear of power. Some of the New Left groups that talk the toughest about power are extremely reluctant to see power operate in any institutional form; within their own organizations, they shun 'hierarchies' and formally structured relations of authority. What the preoccupation with power reflects, essentially, is a deep=seated, pervasive feeling of powerlessness.”” Carey McWilliams ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Obsessive focus on power reveals a deep sense of powerlessness, leading groups to reject hierarchies while fearing authority. **In simple terms:** Power focus shows insecurity. Key Takeaway Recognize and address underlying powerlessness. Themes politics power dynamics identity Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activist organizing - policy advocacy - community building Key Concepts structural analysis psychology of fear Questions to Reflect On - Why do we fear institutional power? - How can we balance empowerment with necessary structures? A Different Perspective Rejecting all hierarchy may impede effective organization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anonymous/) [Black power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-power/) [Hand in hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hand-in-hand/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Socialistic\] economic planning, regulation, and intervention pave the way to totalitarianism by building a power structure that will inevitably be seized by the most… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/socialistic-economic-planning-regulation-and-intervention-pave-the/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [To try to reform all the power structures at once would leave us with no power structure to use in our project. In any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/to-try-to-reform-all-the-power-structures-at-once-would-leave-us-with/) [Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/) > [It's a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped America of its wealth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/it-s-a-global-power-structure-that-is-responsible-for-the-economic/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The Clinton machine is at the center of this power structure. We've seen this first hand in the WikiLeaks documents, in which Hillary Clinton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-clinton-machine-is-at-the-center-of-this-power-structure-we-ve/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“Until there is equal and fair portion of opportunities apportioned for every citizen, the power structure may need to be restructured.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/until-there-is-equal-and-fair-portion-of-opportunities-apportioned/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I spend all day figuring out how to beat the machine and knock the crap out of the political power structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/i-spend-all-day-figuring-out-how-to-beat-the-machine-and-knock-the/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Get some distance on yourself and undertand the multilevel structure that's operating. There's a power structure within you. You're a very political creature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/get-some-distance-on-yourself-and-undertand-the-multilevel-structure/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [ Some \[people\] may be "servants of the power structure," but that has to be shown. I think it often can be shown, but the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/some-people-may-be-servants-of-the-power-structure-but-that-has-to-be/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [What the power structure is afraid of is that we're going to learn to recognize the truth when we hear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keys-moran/what-the-power-structure-is-afraid-of-is-that-we-re-going-to-learn-to/) [Daniel Keys Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keys-moran/) > [On this basis, which was originally financial and goes back to George Peabody, there grew up in the twentieth century a power structure between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/on-this-basis-which-was-originally-financial-and-goes-back-to-george/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [I am talking and really talking on this very entrenched power structure, and what we're doing is we're talking about the power structure, we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-am-talking-and-really-talking-on-this-very-entrenched-power/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [It is this power structure which the Radical Right in the United States has been attacking for years in the belief that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/it-is-this-power-structure-which-the-radical-right-in-the-united/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [“Wherever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being 'disturbers of the peace'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/wherever-the-early-christians-entered-a-town-the-power-structure-got/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [Power, as in the power structure, is why we are still using gas in cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-paul/power-as-in-the-power-structure-is-why-we-are-still-using-gas-in-cars/) [Alexandra Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-paul/) > [There is absolutely no greater high than challenging the power structure as a nobody, giving it your all, and winning!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbie-hoffman/there-is-absolutely-no-greater-high-than-challenging-the-power/) [Abbie Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbie-hoffman/) ## More by Carey McWilliams > [“To own an orange grove in Southern California is to live on the real gold coast of American agriculture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-mcwilliams/to-own-an-orange-grove-in-southern-california-is-to-live-on-the-real/) Carey McWilliams > [“I think of the view from a favorite arroyo in the late afternoon, the east slope still bathed in sunlight, the far slope already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-mcwilliams/i-think-of-the-view-from-a-favorite-arroyo-in-the-late-afternoon-the/) Carey McWilliams Explore all 3 Carey McWilliams quotes ## More Anarchy quotes > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. 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Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Would you like to do something good for the future of the human race; well, start killing some of its powerful members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/would-you-like-to-do-something-good-for-the-future-of-the-human-race/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [“twenty-three years of RFRAs to produce anarchy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corvino/twenty-three-years-of-rfras-to-produce-anarchy/) [John Corvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corvino/) > [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 795 Anarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A preoccupation with power - black power, student power, flower power, poor power, 'the power structure' - is the striking aspect of the American political scene at the moment. Oddly enough, obsession with power goes hand in hand with a fear of power. 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