ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a distinction between two concepts of rules to a distinction between two concepts of power, following Alasdair MacIntyre in drawing a conceptual and ethical distinction between social practices and institutions. It discusses John Searle's account of the emergence of institutions and powers, which it takes to entail such a commendation. The chapter examines MacIntyre's account of rival practical rationalities, which it takes to pose an alternative to any comprehensive social ontology. There is, Searle agrees, an explanatory "gap" between causal consciousness and consequent action, a gap described by Kant in terms of the freedom of the will, the capacity for choice, and the power of rational self determination. Power describes not only the capacity of some agent but a relation between actors. Political power is a "paradox" in that, although constituted by collectively intended rules, it nonetheless requires coercion.
