Power can manipulate, coerce, and destroy. And as long as we are convinced we have none, power will always look negative. In fact, Power means simply our capacity to act. From this lens, we each have power- and often, much more power than we think. If we accept ecology's insights that we exist in densely woven networks, then we must also accept that every choice we make sends out ripples, even if we're not consciously choosing. So the choice we have is not whether, but only how, we can change the world.

Frances Moore Lappe in Getting a Grip - Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad