Countervailing power, or countervailance, is the idea in political theory that the wielding of power by two or more groups, centers, or sets of interests within a polity can, and often does, yield beneficial effects through productive opposition and containment between opposing forces. As a political concept, it resembles those of

agonism Agonism (from Greek 'struggle') is a political and social theory that emphasizes the potentially positive aspects of certain forms of conflict. It accepts a permanent place for such conflict in the political sphere, but seeks to show how indivi ...

, agonistic pluralism, and checks and balances, encapsulated in the often-quoted phrase from Federalist No. 51 that "ambition must be made to counteract ambition." The notion of countervailance has been applied in both politics and economics. In political theory, countervailance dates back at least to Medieval times, especially in reformist

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and early Protestant movements. The Conciliar Movement, although ultimately ending in failure to reform the Catholic Church, "raised issues that are fundamental in all domains of social organization, and it contributed to the understanding of the general principle of countervailance, which eventually became the foundation of modern

constitutionalism Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...

." The constitutional organization of government, which implies moderation achieved through countervailing forces, stands in contrast to polities where power is concentrated, unchecked, and can be used despotically. Examples of the latter include principalities where "various princes were absolute rulers in their domain", absolutist monarchies, and modern authoritarian and

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...

governments. 17th-century England was an important setting for the development of countervailance theory. It was during this period that "the operational dynamics of the system developed in accordance with the countervailance model of government." While the trend reversed somewhat under the power of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

and the era of the later Stuarts, and was therefore rather uneven over the flow of the 17th century, the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1688 "firmly established the principles of dispersed power and checks and balances as the central pillars of English constitutionalism." Contemporary research in political science and constitutionalism emphasizes the importance of countervailance for democratization and democratic stability. A 2021 study found that power dispersion and countervailance during constitution-making encourages the development of institutions that protect opposition parties from arbitrary use of executive power without unduly impairing majority rule, thus fostering democracy. In economics, the famous American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...

developed the concept of "Countervailing Power" in his 1952 book '' American Capitalism'' to refer to the political regulation of markets. In the classic liberal economy, goods and services are provided and prices set by free bargaining between isolated individual agents. According to Galbraith, however, large business corporations wield enormous power to bias market processes in modern economies. 'Countervailing' powers in the form of trade unions, citizens' organizations and others are crucial to offset business's excessive advantage.EconomyProfessor.com
Retrieved 2008-08-25 On page 126 of his book, Galbraith elaborates on countervailing power in the sphere of economics when he states:

"The development of countervailing power requires a certain minimum opportunity and capacity for organization, corporate or otherwise. If the large retail buying organizations had not developed the countervailing power which they have used, by proxy, on behalf of the individual consumer, consumers would have been faced with the need to organize the equivalent of the retailer's power. This would have been a formidable task but it has been accomplished in Scandinavia where the consumer's co-operative, instead of the chain store, is the dominant instrument of countervailing power in consumers' goods markets."

References

{{instecon Political theories

See also

References