Political scientists often turn to the problem of resources. They do this in order to understand the nature of the impact of power, the sources of power relations and resources that are used to achieve the goal. Since power, by definition, is the individual’s ability to exercise his own will against the wishes of others, its realization requires special means and methods. She needs them in order to influence her subordinates, achieving her goals. In political theory, it is customary to divide means of influence into potential and real ones. Power resources are potential means, since they can be used, but temporarily not used. And real means, or the foundations of power, are the means that power uses in a given period of time. Of course, this classification is rather arbitrary, because there is no clear border separating the two types of sources.
Since the resources of political power are very diverse, the question arises of the effectiveness and extent of their application in a particular situation. From this comes the need to create a typology of sources of power.
The resources of power are classified in political science according to different criteria. The initial typologies (for example, Plato) were quite speculative in nature.
For the first time, N. Machiavelli seriously classified the resources of power in his works Reflections on the First Decade of Titus Libya and The Sovereign. The classification is based on the definition of motives for human behavior. Machiavelli believed that there were only two of them - fear and love. Both fearful and beloved can rule equally easily. Both motives differ in the way they act. So, if love rests on gratitude, which is not difficult to destroy an evil and selfish person, then fear is characterized by firmness and strength. Machiavelli was also convinced that the resource of fear acts in different ways. For example, a person can more or less calmly accept the loss of freedom, honor, power, but never accept the loss of property. In addition, Machiavelli recognized such resources of power as human passions and vices (fearfulness, greed, deceit).
Subsequently, modern classifications also took the anthropological principle as a basis. At the same time, fear and conviction were added. The resource of persuasion can be successfully applied both in a totalitarian and in a democratic society. In the first case, this is done through the ideological processing of citizens and constant monitoring of information leaking to the masses. In a democratic society, its use is carried out on the basis of an individual's voluntary choice of political values and preferences.
But the resource of interest lies at the heart of the relationship between power and the individual only in democratic systems. Voters, as a rule, choose those politicians who can satisfy their material interests. That is, we can say that politicians buy the votes of their fellow citizens.
Power resources also vary in cycle of action and efficiency. Their use is necessarily influenced by such a factor as the type of regime. For example, the resources of fear and belief organically complement each other in a totalitarian system.
Regarding spheres of influence, by the nature of the impact, normative, compulsory and utilitarian resources of power are distinguished. In the first case, changing the rules and norms of interaction of citizens, the government thereby affects their perception of the world and behavior.
Using utilitarian resources, power affects the conditions of human existence. It satisfies people's daily needs: for example, improving the conditions in which they are forced to work, raising salaries or social benefits.
Compulsory resources (loss of property, fear of violence, fear for one’s life, threat of dismissal, etc.) are associated with the threat of the use of force.