By Konrad Raiser

By Konrad Raiser

 “Now, we got to get this thing right. What is needed is a realization that power without love is

reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. (Yes) Power at

its best [applause], power at its best is love (Yes) implementing the demands of justice, and

justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.  And this is what we

must see as we move on”. Martin Luther King

The quote from Martin Luther King is helpful in addressing the fundamental link between power and love: “Power without love is reckless; love without power is sentimental…” And Martin Luther King’s conclusion, that “power at its best is love” corresponds to Paul Tillich’s approach in his treatise on “Power, Love and Justice”where he states that “love is the desire and the urge towards the reunion of the separated”. Love, therefore, is more than a strong sentiment; it rather is the manifestation of the power and dynamic in life seeking fulfillment by overcoming vulnerability, exclusion and separation,

Speaking, therefore, of the “unifying power of love” implies a critical understanding of the role of power in politics. In Max Weber’s classical definition power is “the ability to carry out one’s own will despite resistance”. In human groups it manifests itself as “power over” others, as “domination” or rule based on the expectation of obedience to a given command. This“realist” understanding of the exercise of power in politics accepts conflict and struggle as given with human nature. The role of power in politics then is to establish law and order.

Introducing the power of love into politics challenges the claims of “realism”of the classical understanding of the role of power in politics. It challenges the assumptions regarding struggle and the imposition of order. Instead of relying on the productive nature of competitive struggle it seeks to enlarge the scope of cooperation. Instead of imposing one’s will or interest against resistance it will listen to the adversary and seek in communication to understand his interest. Instead of establishing orderby drawing lines of demarcation it will follow a practice of inclusiveness. Instead of accepting that the defense of order may create or deepen enmity it will seek reconciliation even at the cost of appearing weak.

The attempt to introduce the power of love into politics can easily be disqualified as “blue-eyed” and “unrealistic”. This has been a central concern in the ethical reflection of Reinhold Niebuhr. He remained skeptical with regard to the power of love. For him love represented primarily a fundamental moral demand which called for “realizable action in the form of justice”. Justice for Niebuhr is the attempt to institutionalize the moral demands of love. However, considering love not only as a moral demand but with Tillich as the “urge towards the reunion of the separated”, the power of love must find expression in an equally dynamic understanding and practice of justice in the sense not of retributive but rather transformative justice aiming at right relationships.