Eric L - 03:22pm Oct 12, 2000 (#1 of 9)
Ce qui saute aux yeux, et qui n'est pas surprennant c'est que le mot le plus cité est dans les deux cas "argent/money", bien largement devant les notions de "gouvernement" et d'"etat". Il n'est pas nécessaire d'éxpliquer celà, venant de deux pays capitalistes hautement industrialisés.
On remarque que surtout pour les Français, la notion de "pouvoir" est associée à des notion péjoratives comme "dictature","corruption", "dangereux". Les Américains font moins un jugement de valeur, le pouvoir parait-il moins dérangeant et dangereux à leur yeux?
I agree with Eric Leclercq that one would expect money to be tied to power in industrial capitalist societies. If we consider the associations for "money"/"argent", however, perhaps the superficial similarity between the two kinds of answer is actually hiding a deeper disparity. The American students include responses like "house", "car", and "jewelry", whereas the French students write "confort", "plaisir", and "bonheur". To put it too simply, the Americans look at money as a way of gaining commodities, but the French consider it a means of obtaining a desirable lifestyle. On this reading, the Americans think "power" is a commodity, whereas the French think "pouvoir" is a lifestyle. A lifestyle entails responsibility. A commodity, on the other hand, may be defective... but if so, it is not the fault of the buyer.
A quick question: how is "parcimonie" related to "pouvoir"?
I think it is interesting that both lists seemed to focus on the immediate consequences of power, the capabilities that it affords to one who wields it, both to purchase things and to manipulate their environment to suit their wishes. But power can also have very positive associations, or at least it can be a positive force, as seen only in a few cases on the French side with the words "utopie" and "liberté." The fact that power can command respect is a neutral association in my mind.
Hello Eric,
I agree with you on the fact that the word "power" is primarily associated with money in this country. The strong economy in the US has increased consumption by a factor of 3.5 since 1950. With such high acquisition capabilities people just buy materialistic goods like crazy, it is unbelievable... Power is seen as the greatest acquisition capabilities, as the one who can buy the most and the best...
It seems the negatives associated with power for Americans are mostly associated with corruptions and general abuses of power (domination, manipulation, demanding, arrogance) within high ranking offices. Whereas the negatives associated with power for the French seem to be result of distrust perhaps due to historical tradition (French Revolution). French words such as anarchie, totalitarisme, dictature, abus, suprematie etc. seem to relay the negative association of power.
I think that the American tend to view power as a means to an end while the French seem to see power as commodity. Something that they can be happily with out. Americans see power as a status, it's something that everyone wants because with it comes respect, wealth, and status, it is a means to a nice life-sytle. For the French it is an opportunity to get corrupted.
I think that the answers to these words can be related a lot to the answers for "elite", I think that both may not be due to a cultural difference necessarily, but because translations of the words and how they are used is different. When Americans hear "power" they think not just of power in government or other offices, but power over others in social situations, in a job, power of the self, etc.
Je suis d' accord avec l'analyse de Gabrielle en ce sens que les Français ont eu tendance à associer le pouvoir à d'autre concepts voisins, alors que les Américains semblent l'avoir associé à des situations plus concrètes et plus variées. Mais c'est justement une différence de nature culturelle que de ne pas comprendre et utiliser un terme de façon identique.