Desire for Power – The Lost Contribution to Improving Social Relationships

The article focuses on the concepts of power and the desire for power, the often-overlooked and unrecognized facets of the latter, and the contributions of both power and the desire for power to the betterment of human nature, the improvement of interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of overall social harmony. The authors highlight the personal – interpersonal – greater social potential of power that can become unlocked once we free ourselves from a linear and binary approach to it, embrace both the stability and the complexity of human nature, and accept the possibility that “everything can also be different,” quoting Alfred Adler. The historical overview and major conclusions are based on two theories: Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology and the Lvov-Warsaw School, rooted in Franz Brentano’s psychology. The authors propose the implications of power discourse in general social life and in the therapeutic environment. Venues for continuous discussions and their applications are suggested. The authors’ experiences growing up in Eastern Europe during some of the most significant power conquests of the 20th century inspired, in part, this exploration.