Václav Havel et al., "Power of the Powerless"

“Permanent self-satisfaction is a threat to life, and presents an extreme danger to humanity as humanity." – Rudolf Battěk

"Power of the Powerless" is a collection of essays, written by several of the signatories of Charter 77 shortly after its delivery, which address the “post totalitarian” state in Czechoslovakia. The essays act as a call to action out of passivity for the Czechoslovakian people, who by being complicit in the rule of the state allow for its legitimacy. Mass complicity allows the state to perpetrate human rights violations and other abuses of power that ideologically it should protect. It is ideology that is on trial in these essays, since the ideologies extolled by the state have become meaningless verbiage and documentation used to maintain power and the status quo rather than transform society and promote the individual. It is therefore the individual who must act and live according to truth, parallel to the framework set up by the state, in active dissidence. Although the essayists come from different backgrounds and sometimes propose different ways to achieve societal transformation, all of the essays have grounding in empowering the individual and denying absolute power to the state. This book not only acts as an historical document to a grassroots movement against a repressive regime, it can also be used as inspiration for any individual or concerned group of people in a state system that relies on passivity and a lack of a political sphere for its continued existence.

Links:
Václav Havel homepage



Citation Information:
Havel, V., & Keane, J. (1985). The Power of the powerless: Citizens against the state in central-eastern Europe. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.