Problems of agency in empowerment work

Abstract

Chapter 7 examines dilemmas of agency in the empowerment orientation, in which participants develop their capabilities as activists. Empowerment is ultimately non-transferable and perishable: it must end or fail. Whether adherents can empower others turns on whether the capabilities are ones that they do not themselves possess; or, more ambitiously, ones they already have but have not yet discovered; and on whether they are willing to acquire such capabilities passively—as pupils—rather than, more ambitiously, through interactive discussion between teacher and taught. The chapter distinguishes between three approaches: disjoint “instruction,” conjoint “co-learning,” and “self-empowerment.” The supporting case study for this chapter concerns British supporters of the Indian anticolonial movement. The historical puzzle is why some Indian anticolonial activists sought the help of such British supporters but others rejected such help even when it was offered and potentially useful to them.