Karl Marx differentiated essential power from political power, arguing that man inherently possesses ôessential powersö that are his to use while also being subjected to the influences of political powers employed by elites within society (Tucker, 88-89). This view of the human condition, which was to a degree appropriated by Jessica Benjamin, suggests that there are elements or forces within any given society which seek to delimit the capacity of an individual or a group (or even a gender) to exercise power. In this essay, the positions of Marx and Benjamin regarding power, its meaning and sources, and its uses in society, will be examined. It will be argued that Benjamin, having ôappropriatedö some of the ideas constructed by Marx regarding power relations, chose to focus on a specific type of gendered power relations in her analysis of contemporary society. Marx, conversely, was less concerned with gender qua gender than with class as a central element in the establishment and maintenance of power relationships in capitalist societies. Both authors, however, take as their point of departure the capitalist political and social structure.
MarxÆs theory depends upon the assertion that society is divided into classes of the oppressed and the oppressors who remain in constant opposition to one another. He traced the rise of capitalism to the decline of feudalism as an effective industrial system and the growth of new markets after the colonization of the non-European world (Tucker, 44û45). Science, as a spur to the development of steam and machine production, made it possible for modern industry controlled by industrial millionaires to reach a position of prominence in the world market.
It was to the bourgeoisie, a class containing both the middle and upper classes that Marx turned in his analysis of why control over industry became centered in the hands of the few at the expense of the proletariat. Marx also bel...