Power is the relationship between a subject and an object, within which the subject has the ability to change the state of the object. The broader the limits of these changes, the greater the fullness of power. Power signifies precisely the real possibility of changes, rather than the right to carry them out. If others recognize the subject’s claim to a certain change in the state of the object, but the subject is unable to do so, then the subject has the right, but not the power. Conversely, if others deny the subject the right, but the ability to change the object remains, it means the subject possesses power over that object, even if they have no right to it.

A human being, among other things, can be an object of power. Since the concept of power is purely technical, and the libertarian worldview is a system of moral and legal evaluations, libertarianism—when applied to power—answers questions about which manifestations of power are permissible and in which cases.