Power and Personality

by Harold D. Lasswell

“A trailblazing study that has mapped out new ways of understanding politicians and power, democracy and leadership, political systems and political personality―by the foremost intellect in American political science.” ―James MacGregor Burns Power is an interpersonal situation: those who hold power depend on a continuing stream of empowering responses. Are there ”born leaders” and “born followers”? Is there a basic political type, or a certain kind of personality that seeks power? What implications do the motives for getting and using power have for democratic forms of government? In the light of recurrent challenges to democracy, and growing interest in psychological factors in those who govern, Harold D. Lasswell’s classic study offers a wide-ranging introduction to these vital concerns.

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1962

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

First part was boring when he just went over definitions, but parts of this book spoke to me about how the human mind operates in ways I haven't heard before. Maybe not mainstream, but it's definitely not fringe either. I think this falls into the category of "important accessible ideas which somehow ended up falling into the obscurity of the public but relevant to academia"