(Extracted from a discussion with Sophia Masden)
I make the distinction between power and influence because influence is what drives (catalyzes) the actions taking place, but influence does not actually produce anything. I think you should be able to understand this distinction, owing to your Marxist background. So I will further explain this analogy in that context, so you will appreciate the importance of the distinction:
1.1.a: The ruling class: They do not produce commodities; Instead they coerce the working class into producing for them; it is actually the working class who is producing; thus, while the working class are actually the ones who have the power, they are the engine that drives the machine of (in this case) capitalism.
1.1.b: Returning to the train analogy:
"utility is the coal, possession (identification) is the act of burning the coal for fuel, power is the engine being driven by the fuel being burned, and influence is the train being moved by the engine.
In the train analogy, the working class is the "engine" that drives capitalism, and the ruling class...interestingly enough (I was truly surprised!) has neither influence nor power. They are actually producers just like the working class, only instead of goods or intellectual property, they produce wealth, prestige, society....essentially they are world builders, macroproducers.
1.1.c: The real influencers:
Note for the purposes of this section and all those after, I should make the distinction between power and influence clear:
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1. Power (real): the transformation of utility into produce.
a. Worker's power: the transformation of utility into commodities. Used primarily for subsistence.
b. Ruler's power: the transformation of utility into wealth and influence. Used primarily for wealth-building and world-building
2. Influence: the presumption and use of symbolic (illusory) power to build the agendas (filters) through which the infrastructure of power (real) is manifested. Essentially, influence is built either through:
a. Representing (illusory) power as if it were (real) power, or
b. Convincing those who have power (the working/ruling classes) that it is in their best interests to have their power represented by a third-party. This "better interest" is facilitated either through promises to improve their socio-economic status and/or quality of life (usually this is the means of influencing the power of the working class), or through threats, extortion, coercion, force, etc. (this is usually the means of influencing the ruling class).
3. Worker's influence: When the working class has control over the means of production, they become the primary influencers.
a. In this scenario, the middle class (the petty bourgeoisie) dissolves or is merged into the working class.
b. Unfortunately, in every implementation of Communist Socialism established thus far, the dissolution of the middle class results in a power (or for the purposes of this comment, "influence") vacuum.
c. Due to the working class's lack of knowledge, experience, or drive to influence the infrastructure of power, most of the influence is absorbed by the new ruling class.
d.The Bourgeoisie (ruling class) is also dismantled through communist revolution, which would appear to result in the working class becoming the new ruling class ("The dictatorship of the Proletariat"; this would be favorable, as having both power and influence (representation of power) would ensure the Proletariat's complete control over the means of their socio-economic infrastructure, and the governing and influence thereof.
d. However, because the Proletariat is also inexperienced and lacking the drive or interest in macroproduction (microproduction, the production of commodity goods, is what they are most familiar and comfortable with), so the power (influence) vacuum created by the overthrow of the ruling class, and the subsequent dissolution of the middle class, is instead filled by the communist revolutionaries (who are opportunists by nature, and thus corrupted by power, see Mein Kemp) who form a power-hungry elite vanguard aristocracy.
e. The elite vanguard aristocracy is what all Communist governments have deteriorated into thus far, to my knowledge.
4. Ruler's influence (see above): When the representation of power (influence) is merged into the domain of the ruling class. The most common implementation of this is the elite vanguard aristocracy.
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The ones who actually influence are the middle class (the petty bourgeoisie); because they are driven by an obsessive need for more influence (symbolic power), they are constantly driving themselves into institutions of power: They are the educators, the managers, the politicians, parliament and congress, the ambassadors.
The ruling class, so that they are not stripped from their perch by the ever-aggressive middle-class, are constantly giving concessions, earmarks, and political advantages to them to appease them. In exchange for keeping their king-of-the-hill status, the ruling class goes along with whatever agenda the petty bourgeoisie has, so long as it does not interfere too much with their wealth-building and world-building.
The middle class is like the illegitimate generation of kings, determined to rule but lacking to socio-economic status to feasibly do-so. Like William the Conqueror, who conquered and submitted the Germanic tribes to his will, in hopes of legitimizing his rule, The petty bourgeoisie are constantly advancing agendas to increase their power, in hopes of becoming a part of the ruling class.
1.1d: Returning to the oven analogy (to tie this all together), the oven would be analogous to the working class, that cannot do anything on its own, but instead produces within the confines of the system that the ruling class decides, the decisions of which are heavily influenced by the power-hungry agendas of the middle class.
1.1e: So the oven (working class) is producing the bread through the baking of utility (bread) via their power (heat). Thus, the working class has all the power, but, just as you said, the oven (working class) "doesn't have independent capacity to act, it cannot do anything itself"; it can only heat the bread that is given to them by the ruling class (those who decide), and the bread is baked according to the temperature, restrictions, time, and recipe (the agenda) dictated by the middle class (petty bourgeoisie).
1.1f: The oven actually does have the power, but it cannot do anything with that power, because power lies not in decision-making or influence, but in the transformation of utility into produce.
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