Power can take many forms and do many things, power can be what you can do, power can be control, and power can keep the lights on and power runs the world. If power did not exist, there would be no leaders, only followers and a world full of people following each other would be a dull place. All people crave a form of power, in whatever form they seem fit, some think it is control, money or other stuff, but it takes power to do anything in life.
In the book Divergent, which we are reading, all of the factions have their own opinion on power and what it means to be powerful. Erudite for example sees power in intelligence, they believe ignorance is the cause for all problems and that learning and advancing comes before consequences. While Erudite are right in some regards, they are wrong in many others, like: honesty, erudite at the time has moved past their original agenda and now seek to control the community because they believe the smartest are best fit, what they also lack is selflessness, erudite are incredibly selfish in the book and fear that others have more power or resources and point fingers in a desperate attempt to get the upper hand, they also lack bravery, it takes no bravery to sit behind a screen and think of ways to advance technology, it takes some to go out and make a difference with that technology, not every faction is perfect and that is their flaw, they all have their own agendas and are not working for the greater good anymore.
Candor isnt perfect either, seeing everything in black and white isn’t always the best, they seem to be a cold faction where truth and law are followed to the letter, allowing for no freedom, a community will not last under that type of leadership, it would be too strict and the other factions would bring them down. People are complex and truth and lies will not always solve the problem, you need to be kind in and smart at times to know when the truth is the best choice, you cant use black and white in an often gray world. They see power in honesty.
Abnegation is the faction of the selfless, yet the other factions seem to think that they are not, Erudite thinks they are hoarding supplies, Candor thinks that kindness is deceit so Abnegation is targeted quite a bit for suspicion, but from what we know, they have the second worst living conditions in the city, above factionless, they are not allowed to do anything for themselves, no hobbies, no sports, nothing that is just for you. Tris has never had a hamburger before being in Dauntless, could you imagine eating bland food everyday for your entire life, Abnegation seems to be the scapegoat for the other factions, most situations can not be solved by kindness, some require you to be smart and know when to be kind and where to no, it requires bravery to stand up for yourself, and it requires honesty to know you are not making much of a difference yourself.
We have not seen Amity yet, so there is nothing to be said, but we have seen Dauntless. Dauntless see power in Bravery, while they have moved away from their good intentions, they still believe that cowardice is the cause for problems, that you have to be brave enough to stand up for yourself, that you need to be brave to make a difference.
