Book
The Other Side of Power
An exploration of interpersonal power dynamics and cooperative alternatives, arguing that genuine power comes not from control over others but from authentic connection and mutual respect.
Written for: General readers interested in power dynamics, social justice, and cooperative alternatives to domination
The Other Side of Power represents Steiner’s sustained engagement with questions of power, control, and domination in human relationships. He distinguishes between “power plays,” the manipulative tactics people use to get their way, and genuine personal power, which arises from honesty, vulnerability, and cooperation.
Steiner draws on both Transactional Analysis and his experience in the radical psychiatry movement to argue that hierarchical, coercive models of power are ultimately self-defeating. He proposes instead a vision of power grounded in equality and mutual recognition, offering practical tools for identifying and resisting manipulation in everyday life.
Originally published by Grove Press in 1981 and reprinted by Grove Atlantic in 2025, the book speaks to enduring questions about how people relate to authority and to one another. Its insights remain strikingly relevant in an era of renewed interest in the politics of everyday interaction.
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