--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Power, in a nutshell, is the ability to…" description: "\"Power, in a nutshell, is the ability to get things done, and politics is the ability to decide which things need to be done.\" — Zygmunt Bauman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/zygmunt-bauman-1861_ability_power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-ge_2461490.png" --- # Power, in a nutshell, is the ability to get things done… ![“Power, in a nutshell, is the ability to get things done, and politics is the ability to decide which things need to be done.” quote by Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/zygmunt-bauman-1861_ability_power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-ge_2461490.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/zygmunt-bauman-1861_ability_power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-ge_2461490.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/zygmunt-bauman-1861_ability_power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-ge_2461490.png) > “Power, in a nutshell, is the ability to get things done, and politics is the ability to decide which things need to be done.” [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power lets people accomplish goals; politics decides which goals are worth pursuing. **In simple terms:** Power acts; politics chooses priorities. Key Takeaway Recognize who sets agendas and why. Themes authority political decision-making goal setting Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - organizational leadership - public policy - community projects - activism Key Concepts agenda-setting political theory social influence Questions to Reflect On - Who decides which goals matter? - How can citizens influence political priorities? A Different Perspective Power can be abused, leading to exclusion of marginalized voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Politics Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-ability-365177/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Nutshell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-nutshell-660603/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Things Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-politics-602237/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/politics-is-the-ability-to-foretell-what-is-going-to-happen-tomorrow/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I can't get excited about politics, but I love it as a game. Because what I love in politics - this is very selfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-can-t-get-excited-about-politics-but-i-love-it-as-a-game-because/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“Nowadays, the level of illiteracy in Korea is virtually zero. Unlike many other places in the world, all people with an interest in politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tudor/nowadays-the-level-of-illiteracy-in-korea-is-virtually-zero-unlike/) [Daniel Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tudor/) > [I'd never been a tract writer; I'd never been a philosopher; I'd never taken part in extraordinary industrial dispute activism; I'd not been in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/i-d-never-been-a-tract-writer-i-d-never-been-a-philosopher-i-d-never/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [When a man has his heart in the right place and good taste, he can not only do well in politics but is even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/when-a-man-has-his-heart-in-the-right-place-and-good-taste-he-can-not/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [There is a hundred things to single you out for promotion in party politics besides ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-is-a-hundred-things-to-single-you-out-for-promotion-in-party/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [More things in politics happen by accident or exhaustion than happen by conspiracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/more-things-in-politics-happen-by-accident-or-exhaustion-than-happen/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [Politics are for foreigners with their endless wrongs and paltry rights. 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You can get a lot of things done.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/the-last-thing-i-d-say-is-that-you-can-achieve-a-lot-of-things-in/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [There are two things you can do in politics: you can sit around waiting for things to happen, or you can start doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cleverly/there-are-two-things-you-can-do-in-politics-you-can-sit-around/) [James Cleverly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cleverly/) > [If you want to change things, politics is the best way to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-varadkar/if-you-want-to-change-things-politics-is-the-best-way-to-do-that/) [Leo Varadkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-varadkar/) > [Politics are a lousy way for a free man to get things done. Politics are, like God's infinite mercy, a last resort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/politics-are-a-lousy-way-for-a-free-man-to-get-things-done-politics/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the most important things in politics is you've got to keep your mind infinitely curious and alive to what is happening differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/one-of-the-most-important-things-in-politics-is-you-ve-got-to-keep/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [One of the things about politics, when you're actually there, you realize, you're on a high wire and there is no net under you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/one-of-the-things-about-politics-when-you-re-actually-there-you/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [Revenge is one of the few things in politics that never gets lost in the mail or written off for a dime on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/revenge-is-one-of-the-few-things-in-politics-that-never-gets-lost-in/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More by Zygmunt Bauman > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > ['I am insecure' means: I can't cope on my own. The odds are overwhelming. I can't resist them on my own. I need us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/i-am-insecure-means-i-can-t-cope-on-my-own-the-odds-are-overwhelming/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [For one to be free there must be at least two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/for-one-to-be-free-there-must-be-at-least-two/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [It is easy now to break the vows. It is even easier to part your ways if vows haven't been taken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/it-is-easy-now-to-break-the-vows-it-is-even-easier-to-part-your-ways/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Once upon a time, when I was young, people saw a wedding as an event that determined the rest of their life. For a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/once-upon-a-time-when-i-was-young-people-saw-a-wedding-as-an-event/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [The inequality between the world's individuals is staggering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/the-inequality-between-the-world-s-individuals-is-staggering/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Madness is no madness when shared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/madness-is-no-madness-when-shared/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [After many years of thinking, reading and writing and looking, I came to believe that there are two basic, essential values which are indispensable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/after-many-years-of-thinking-reading-and-writing-and-looking-i-came/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [State governments seek local remedies for the globally fabricated deprivations and miseries in vain - just as the individuals-by-the-decree-of-fate (read: by the impact of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/state-governments-seek-local-remedies-for-the-globally-fabricated/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [“Beneath the dream of fame, another dream, a dream of no longer dissolving and staying dissolved in the grey, faceless and insipid mass of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/beneath-the-dream-of-fame-another-dream-a-dream-of-no-longer/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Why are people so concerned with relativism? If you look back in history, millions of people were killed because of someone's dogmatic views, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/why-are-people-so-concerned-with-relativism-if-you-look-back-in/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [I think that the essential instruction of the Bible is very much topical. The sole problem is that with every change of historical setting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/i-think-that-the-essential-instruction-of-the-bible-is-very-much/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [For intellectual authority, the appropriate version of Descartes 's cogito would be today: I am talked about, therefore I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/for-intellectual-authority-the-appropriate-version-of-descartes-s/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [The problem of insufficient security was, until quite recently, a matter of a minority; now it is becoming very quickly a majority matter. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/the-problem-of-insufficient-security-was-until-quite-recently-a/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) [Explore all 169 Zygmunt Bauman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Power, in a nutshell, is the ability to get things done, and politics is the ability to decide which things need to be done.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zygmunt Bauman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-get-things-done-and-politics-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-get-things-done-and-politics-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/zygmunt-bauman-1861_ability_power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-ge_2461490.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/zygmunt-bauman-1861_ability_power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-ge_2461490.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/zygmunt-bauman-1861_ability_power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-ge_2461490.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Power, in a nutshell, is the ability to get things done, and politics is the ability to decide which things…” — Zygmunt Bauman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Zygmunt Bauman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Power, in a nutshell, is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-get-things-done-and-politics-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/power-in-a-nutshell-is-the-ability-to-get-things-done-and-politics-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```