Freedom is Power
I tend to define "power" (in the human sense) as being synonymous with "freedom" - that being the number of beneficial options one has available to them. It is the ability to make the maximum number of positive choices while suffering the minimal number of negative consequences or expending the lowest amount of resources for making those choices. This is what it means to act with impunity. Our choices vary, but so too do the means at our disposal, and both of these things are quite obviously uneven across the span of human individuals. If all actions we take require an expenditure of effort, some risk of loss, or some other price to pay, then mathematically, we are all technically bound by the same arithmetic when determining what we can or cannot do. And in this sense, everything that measures a human being's personal freedom can be described as what "choices" or "options" one has available to them, which in turn can be simplified as simply how much "power" that person has. My argument here is that this power can be expressed in a variety of ways that we all recognize and put stock within to various degrees, but that no matter which of them matter most to us, they all still ultimately boil down to something which can fundamentally be described as power.
Money/Resources = Power
This one's pretty simple - the more money you have, the more access to resources you have, the more power you have. Most other human beings will work, do you a favor, or otherwise accommodate your wishes for an adequate amount of money or physical wealth. And those with a limited amount of this resource cannot give their assets away quite so frivolously as those that have a lot of it. It's a lot more costly to spend $100 on something if you only have $100 to your name. Ergo, more money and/or resources = more power. And there comes a point where one can become so rich that money is effectively no object for them - they can conceivably keep throwing money at most any problem they have until it goes away. There are only a very select number of individuals that have sufficient money to be capable doing so, and they are all understood to have "power." Of course, there are some people that cannot be bought, as it were, and mathematically speaking, money is still technically finite, so when money fails, one might have to rely on other means of expressing their power.
Strength/Knowledge = Power
Strength (or more broadly, physical ability, including physical skills and talents) is a much more primal expression of power. If someone tries to prevent you from achieving your goal, or has a goal of their own that negatively impacts you, then if you are physically stronger or more capable than them, you can overcome them and continue to pursue your objectives unimpeded. The stronger or more capable you, the less you have to expend to retain access to your goals without expending as much energy on contending with any physical opposition you encounter. Whether that involves fighting someone, beating them at some contest of skill, building a better thing than them, or strategically outmaneuvering them in the field of politics or military conflict, all of these things are simply another expression of your power. This is why I also include knowledge in this category, because being able to out-think your opponent (or think your way around your circumstances or the surrounding environment in general) often comes down to a skill-set or experience level in an area that does not rely on purely physical means. But whether you came by your knowledge, strength or skill through an expenditure of money or resources, or are simply gifted with innate talent, one's abilities can be applied regardless of one's current money or resources even should they be stripped away. And whether this power lies in strength or knowledge, these abilities still ultimately grant you access to a greater number of options for a lesser expenditure than you would have without these abilities, and thus can be described as power.
Popularity/Influence = Power
We are social creatures, and we all share this world with other people. And sometimes force is not the most efficient strategy when those other people might oppose you. If you can win the favor of your fellow human beings through your words, charm or strength of personality, if you can lead, inspire, swindle, seduce or otherwise sway others to make decisions that benefit you, one way or another, then you've not only saved all the effort you would expend trying to oppose or overcome those others, but you've also whatever effort those people will now lend to your cause. In the case of politicians, celebrities, and other public figures with a platform to speak from, people with influence are more likely to receive more support from their followers the more popular they are (this is not to accuse any such influencers of being right or wrong, simply that they do in fact, aptly, have influence over the decisions of others). And even if someone is not in the public spotlight at all, some people are able to just turn on the charm and convince a total stranger to help them out in some way that cannot be described as anything other than having "power."
I count popularity/influence as separate from using money/resources and strength/knowledge, even though one's ability to influence the decisions of others can definitely be aided by one's wealth or prowess - sometimes the mere of knowledge of how much of it one has can influence others without even having to expend any of it. But because influence still relies on swaying the opinion of another thinking human being to your aid, whose decisions ultimately determine the outcome, I think one's charisma should count as its own thing. In a similar vein, money or popularity can be used to convince those with their own physical power and skill to fight or work for you too, even if your own strength or knowledge is lacking. But if you have neither money nor any other physical means at your disposal, so long as you can communicate and sway the opinion of others, you can still gain access to options and choices that these others can provide on your behalf, thus diminishing the expenditure of resources on your part in attaining your goals. Popularity and influence over others is, therefore, simply another expression of power, just as money/resources and strength/knowledge is. There can certainly be blending and cross-over when it comes to employing these expressions of power, but my point is that no matter which or how many you rely upon, all of these means are, ultimately, expressions of power.
Power = Freedom
Whether you are buying more options, using your strength or knowledge to acquire more options, or recruiting the aid of others to provide you with more options, at the end of the day, what you are ultimately trying to secure are more options. The more solutions one has to solve their problem, the better positioned they are to make the most advantageous choices possible. And more importantly, the fewer choices one has, the more likely one is to risk losing a greater and greater proportion of their power in one category or another, be it wealth, strength or status, thus diminishing the means by which they may make choices in the future.
The more power you have, the more achievable your goals become, and the more of those goals you can work towards without fear of risking constraint of your options to achieve future goals. When you need not concern yourself with safety concerns, either because you've bought sufficient food, water, shelter and the best security money can buy, or if you are such a strong fighter, talented survivor, or skilled hunter or craftsman that you can fight or think your way out of any situation with all confidence, or if you are so famous, popular or have such a magnetic personality that as soon as someone recognizes you, they'd gladly give you the shirt off their back, then you are ultimately benefiting from having your pick of more options. Which, consequently, means that you are free to make more choices without fear of as many consequences as you would otherwise have to contend with.
You are more free to make choices than you would be without these means at your disposal. You have more freedom, simply put, because you have more power. Without money or resource to make use of, without strength or knowledge to rely on, or without any influence over those around you, then you ultimately have no power, no options, and no freedom to make choices. You have nothing to eat, nothing to wear, nowhere to live, nothing to defend yourself with, no means to acquire materials, and no one to turn to for help. The only choice remaining to you is how you choose to die.
We are all free to make choices, but when we have to choose between what we want and what we need to survive, that's not really a choice. This is not true freedom as I see it. Those who lack power, ultimately, lack freedom. Most everyone has a little bit of each of these things, but it is only those who are able to acquire a considerable amount of at least one of these things who truly thrive. And whether we spend our lives seeking out fame, fortune, knowledge, or skill, we are all ultimately seeking access to the options that matter most to us - to attain a position in life that grants us the greatest number of choices that benefit us in some way, and ensures that we are able to make such choices in the future. Whether that takes the form of a stable home, a loving family, a successful career, fabulous wealth or worldwide popularity, all of us are ultimately seeking power in some way. Because at the end of it all, power is the only thing that truly makes us free.
















