The Ontology of Power: An Institutional and Axiological Aspect

The article contains the author’s reflections on the essence of political power. Its manifestations are considered in three phases: con- quest, realization and retention of power. The complex issue of combining domination (in fact, violence) with conscience and morality is analyzed. The author’s approach is characterized by a combination of a scientific paradigm based on positivism and a theological paradigm. According to the author, for a long time the moral traditions formed with the inherent moral divine imperative of people certainly influenced the behavior of government representatives. But conscience really came to power along with faith, when the attitude towards people became a relationship with God. The article defines such concepts as “power”, “conscience”, “mentality”, “ideology”. It is argued that the combination of these concepts in the practice of political management is possible if the government takes into account the mental fields of the population and has a conscience – a complex sense of anticipating the possible consequences (including God’s punishment) of its actions.