ABSTRACT
There is clearly a need for a broad and inclusive concept of power which can articulate the varied situations and aspects of oppression. The definition of power is an evaluative one which needs to be justified - something for which there is not sufficient space here. However, there are key aspects to the dimensions of a relevant concept of power, which will be indicated, together with some of the sources which can be used to help justify this approach. Contemporary post-structural and postmodern theorists have influenced discussions in health and social welfare, where references to M. Foucault’s concept of power seem to have become compulsory. Power is omnipresent, according to Foucault, and should not be viewed merely as a negative exercise in decision-making by the powerful against the powerless. It is also seen as a productive force in Foucault, not simply as a preventive or repressive force.
