nor any of the variations on that idea , not classes , status , groups , or parties , but distinct people [ acting ] together ,’ 12 that creates and maintains power . Human plurality , then , the fact that human beings are equal by virtue of their status as members of the human race and yet distinct by virtue of their unique personalities and experiences , is central to Arendt ’ s conception of power precisely because this power can only ‘ grow ’ out of the mutual cooperation between distinct people who come together in order to create something ; for Arendt , this is the ‘ web of relationships ’ that helps to constitute politics proper . It is precisely because our human experience is shared that we can create these kinds of relationships in the first place and so where we can form agreements , through the disclosure of differing views and opinions to one another in a shared , public space , a horizontal and mutually beneficial conception of power can be formed as a result . 13
Power With
What we gain from this notion of the plurality inherent to human action is the fact that , for Arendt , politics fundamentally involves , ‘ individuality , distinction , and equality ,’ such that , ‘ every individual brings a distinctive perspective to a common world .’ 14 It is precisely because of , ‘ the fact that men , not Man , live on earth ,’ 15 inhabiting these communal and shared spaces , that the ‘ polis ’, the political community as such , is formed . For Arendt , it is the power generated from the activity that goes on between people in these spaces that is the , ‘ potestas in populo or the power of the people necessary for government ,’ 16 and so , in this sense , Arendt ’ s understanding of power is deeply indebted to the initial conception of the ancient Greek polis where , through acting and speaking in the communal and public realm , distinct individuals were able to come together as , ‘ co-builders of a shared world ,’ 17 as builders of an equal and collaborative political power . This becomes more obvious when we consider the connection Arendt draws between power and the ‘ space of appearance ’ in The Human Condition . For Arendt , this space is the , ‘ in-between … [ which ] relates and separates men at the same time .’ 18 It consists of the spaces around us that constitute our shared reality where we can speak and interact with one another . This notion of the ‘ in-between ’ spaces that link us all together expresses the sense in which power can only ever be
12
Frazer , “ Power and Violence ”, 156
13
Arendt , Violence , 175
14
Bernstein , Violence : Thinking Without Bannisters , 82
15
Arendt , The Human Condition , 7
16
Chad Kautzer , “ Political Violence and Race : A Critique of Hannah Arendt ”, CLCWeb : Comparative Literature and Culture , vol . 21 , no . 3 , ( 2019 ), 7
17
Breen , “ Violence and Power : A Critique of Hannah Arendt on the ‘ Political ’”, 346
18
Arendt , The Human Condition , 52