Power struggle

It’s not often that you’re likely to be faced with a line of military vehicles bearing down on you, as was the case for ‘Tank Man’ in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The unidentified protestor was one of tens of thousands of students who made a stand against the Chinese government. In this instance, people power was ineffective in the face of State power. Tank Man’s fate is unknown.

The kind of power you’ll probably face will be slightly more subtle: the power of cultural norms, which are fed to you minute-by-minute through the world’s mainstream media. What should we discuss? The news has the answer. How should I feel? Flick on the TV. What is the meaning of life? Hollywood knows. Where are we going? DJ, spin that wheel.

When it comes to power, it’s presented as little more than a battle of good versus evil: rogues”