Pain as Power: Torture as a Mechanism for Social Control

Abstract

Inflicting pain as a mechanism for the development of power-relationships is not new. When examined using the aggressor-witness-victim model, relationships based on the control of the aggressor can be examined with regard to the ability to either inflict pain or to withhold pain. The aggressor has the power in violent interaction to either cause pain or to not cause pain. This ability creates a dependency between these groups as well as the witnesses who are present for the interaction. This dependency is a public performance in which it is made clear that the aggressor has control over the physical body of the victim and the witnesses. This relationship is explored both prehistorically through the lens of the Sacred Ridge site (dating to 800 AD in southwestern Colorado) and modern examples. In many ways, witnessing the pain of another is more psychologically damaging that experiencing pain firsthand, and may lead to more easily allowing for the social control of one group over another.