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    Power, like love, can be used for constructive or destructive ends. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill used power, under very trying circumstances, to achieve constructive ends. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot use power to achieve destructive, evil ends. America today is experiencing very serious economic conditions; like a ship at sea struggling for survival amidst a treacherous storm. In times of pending calamity citizens look to political leaders to solve the problems they were elected, or since they are paid by taxpayers let’s say hired, to solve.
    However, to actually understand what political leaders really are and to understand the rationale of their objectives, it is necessary to have an in-depth understand of the nature of power. That is, an understanding of how it is used and to what purpose it will be channeled by those who possess it. Our current circumstances in America are so serious that every American owes it to him or herself to quickly understand what is happening today, what are their current options, and how these options may change in the near future.
    I was thinking about America’s predicament the other day when I received an email from a distinguished American intellectual whom I highly respect and consider a friend, Dr. Jude P. Dougherty, Dean Emeritus, School of Philosophy, The Catholic University Of America in Washington D.C.  He sent me a paper he had written on this important topic of power. He delivered it as a major presentation at James Madison University on April 2, 2009.
    In reading his paper, which illuminates the thoughts of one of the premier political and economic thinkers of the twentieth century, French philosopher and historian Bertrand de Jouvenal, I was struck by the many points made by Dr. Dougherty that not only help us to understand the nature of power and the seriousness of the economic mess we are in right now in America, but also how it puts in context the festering clash of political ideas concerning the economics of redistribution of personal property and other socialist ends advocated by various government leaders and interest groups during the past six months.
    De Jouvenal exposes the dangerous consequences of these ideas in his classic, enlightening books, On Power: Its Nature and the History of Its Growth, 1949, Viking Press and The Ethics of Redistribution, 1951, Cambridge University Press, and reprinted by Liberty Press, 1990. Because Dr. Dougherty distills these conceptual topics of power and economics into a relatively short paper that is easy to read and understand entitled “de Jouvenal on Power,” I think all Americans, of all persuasions, should read this excellent, insightful paper to help them understand what is happening in America today.
    Dr. Dougherty graciously consented to allow me to post his paper on my Bakersfield.com blog, Political and Philosophical Commentary. I highly recommend you read it. And, perhaps, share your thoughts in the comment section at the end of the paper on my blog, so we can begin a serious discussion that may lead us out of thedarkness that is rapidly engulfing America.                  http://people.bakersfield.c...