S1 Bonus: Routes to Power

“We live in a time now where free-market principles from capitalism are coupled with austerity. That’s pretty dangerous because it perpetuates the myth that one can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, meanwhile, their safety net has been removed and their straps have been cut off.”
- Jess Agboola

Listen to the episode

In this bonus episode, we aim to unpack the intricate topic of power and the routes that can be taken towards it.

What is power? How do you acquire power? Is power good or evil?
How did we gain power?

These are questions we will be philosophising on before kicking off the official season of Starting Up, Starting Out.

In this episode, we establish a working definition of power, provide some examples of power, and lightly touch on the effects of choosing several routes to power on both a general and personal level using our entrepreneurial journeys as a backdrop.

In particular, we touch on relational power, political power and economic power as key examples to pay attention to. 

Highlighting this topic is an important precursor to the rest of the season as firstly, it provides a loose framework for listeners to assess what forms of power are available to them and to reflect on how they can best be used.

Secondly, it will form a foundation for us to re-examine the interconnectedness of these forms of power - or an absence of them amongst varying groups. 
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Ultimately, we are mindful of shoehorning the route to power as something that can only be obtained through entrepreneurship and consequently, we want to engage in a healthy dialogue to critique, celebrate and review power in a contemporary context. 

Through this podcast, we hope listeners will take the time to survey the different forms of power available to them (or lack thereof) and use this information as fuel to create the change they want to see - and get the chance to hear about the journeys we have taken to reach our goals.