Read the Point and Counterpoint arguments and answer the question listed below:

Which argument do you agree with (point or counterpoint)? Explain your reasoning.

Point

Not everything we secretly want we admit to wanting. Money is one example. One psychologist found that few people would admit to wanting money, but they thought everyone else wanted it. They were half right – everyone wants money. And everyone wants power.

Harvard psychologist David McClelland was justifiably famous for his study of underlying motives. McClelland would measure people’s motivation for power from his analysis of how people described pictures (called the Thematic Apperception Test, or TAT). Why didn’t he simply ask people how much they wanted power? Because he believed that many more people really wanted power than would admit, or even consciously realize. And that is exactly what he found.

Why do we want power? Because it is good for us. It gives us more control over our own lives. It gives us more freedom to do as we wish. There are few things worse in life than feeling helpless, and few better than feeling in charge of your destiny.

Take Steve Cohen, founder of SAC Capital Advisors and the most powerful man on Wall Street. He buys Picassos, he lives in a mansion, he has white-gloved butlers, he travels the world first class. People will do almost anything to please him, or to even get near him. One writer notes, “Inside his offices, vast fortunes are won and lost. Careers are made and unmade. Type A egos are inflated and crushed, sometimes in the space of hours.” All of this is bad for Steve Cohen, how?

Research shows that people with power and status command more respect from others, have higher self-esteem (no surprise there), and enjoy better health than those of less stature.

Usually, people who tell you power doesn’t matter are those who have no hope of getting it. Being jealous, like wanting power, is one of those people just won’t admit to.

Counterpoint

Of course it is true that some people desire power, and often behave ruthlessly to get it. For most of us, however, power is not high on our list of priorities, and for some people, power is actually undesirable.

Research shows that most individuals feel uncomfortable when placed in powerful positions. One study asked individuals, before they began work in a four-person team, to “rank, from 1 (highest) to 4 (lowest), in terms of status and influence within the group, would you like to achieve.” You know what? Only about one-third (34 percent) of participants chose the highest rank. In a second study, researchers studied employees participating in Amazon’s Mechanical Turk online service. They found, when employees were asked about their reasons for belonging to the three groups (which would be a workplace, a volunteer group, a congregation, etc.) that were most important in their life, that the main reason people want power is to earn respect. If they can get respect without gaining power, that is what most preferred. In a third study, the authors found that individuals preferred power only when they had high ability – in other words, where their influence helped their groups.

This interesting research suggests that we often confuse the desire for power with other things—like the desire to be respected and to help our groups and organizations succeed. In these cases, power is something most of us seek for more benevolent ends—and only in cases when we think the power does good.

Another study found that the majority of people want respect from their peers, not power. Cameron Anderson, the author of this research, sums it up nicely: “You don’t have to be rich to be happy, but instead be a valuable contributing member to your groups,” he comments. “What makes a person high in status in a group is being engaged, generous with others, and making self-sacrifices for the greater good.”

Oh, and about Stevie Cohen…you realize that he is being investigated by the SEC? The SEC investigator: Preet Bharara, the same one who got Rajat Gupta.

Which argument do you agree with (point or counterpoint)? Explain your reasoning.