...balance of: Power, authority and legitimacy. These three concepts are interrelated and a society in absence of one or the other usually finds itself in strain from political instability. In the following essay the question “how do Plato, John Locke and Nicollo Machiavelli address the concepts of: power, authority and legitimacy” shall be discussed. Reference shall be made on how each theorist addresses the above concepts. John Locke addresses the concept of legitimacy. He agrees with Thomas Hobbes in that “the British monarchy lost some of its authority” (John 1689), but he believed it came about because “the monarchy had tried to exceed the scope of its authority” (John 1689).Locke believes the people were acting `natural’ by being disruptive because the monarchy broke the `contract’ by wanting absolute power. Thomas Hobbes agrees with Locke in that the monarchy “suffered from a failure of authority” (Thomas 1651.part 1) but he believes it came about because the monarchy was careless and didn’t know what was expected from them as a ruler. Plato also addresses legitimacy in the Greek government. Plato believes that we live in a world of illusions and that the Greek citizens executed themselves when they executed Socrates. Plato tells us illusions can be dangerous “allegory of the cave” (Spragens 1997). Machiavelli deals with power and “believes a good state, is a state that is well ruled” (Machiavelli 1513 chapter12) He believes that unrest is caused by the lust for power. And believes...
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...Definitional activity (covering Power, Authority, and Legitimacy) There is no universally accepted view of power. Some authors have defined power as domination over others (Hobbes, 1651) while others defined it as a passage to achieve goals (Parsons, 1963). Some look to where power lies to define power from where power lies in the hands of many, this can be seen as Pluralism (Dahl, 1957) to where power lies in the hands of a few, this can be seen as Elitism (Pareto, 1935) but essentially it is the ability to do something For example, in the UK system, there are many accounts of both Elitism and Pluralism but realistically, we live in an Elitist state. The definition of authority is based on the power or right to act in a particular way and to influence others. To excise authority, consent is needed. Some may argue that there are three types of authority: charismatic authority, traditional authority and rational-legal authority (Weber, 1958). It can be argued that authority is used to excise social control (McLaughlin, 2008) and even that we, as humans, need authority in order to live (Seligman, 2003). An example of authority in the UK system could be the Prime Minister, as he has the power to “give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience” (Collins English Dictionary, 2009). The definition of legitimacy has many forms and shapes but some may argue that it derives from something that is right and proper. “Legitimacy has both a normative and a sociological meaning” (Keohane...
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...political terms, power can be explained as the control one entity has over the other. Power is sometimes confused with the term 'influence'. Where power is the ability of make formal binding decisions, influence can be taken as a means through which that power is exerted. This may be due to intimidation, threats, logical reasoning, rational persuasion or lobbying. Authority can be defined as a form of power. The difference lies within the ways through both power and authority is exerted. Where power is viewed as control through any means, authority has a moral character attached to it, and is based on a 'right to rule' notion, where the ruled see the authority as legitimate and take it as a moral obligation to obey it. Authority is essential for the ruling governments. They can maintain order in the society by sheer use of force and coercion but stability and peace can only be achieved through willing compliance otherwise chaos would follow. However, authority by some, is also viewed as an idea which threatens the notions of liberty and democracy. The idea of Authority and Power can be distinguished in theory. Authority is followed without any means, as it is seen as a moral obligation by the ruled party however power is exerted through either persuasion or force. But in the practical terms both of these terms overlap and it is difficult to distinguish them both. An authority will not be influential unless it is backed by power. A leader is said to be in authority when he has the...
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...The pure-types of legitimacy within a power-holder that Max Weber describes in his text, “Politics as a Vocation”, can most definitely be applied to administrative structures like those of a business organization or a company. The most evident form of legitimacy accorded to those in higher positions in this instance is the Rational-legal authority, which as Weber mentions, has come to constitute the concept of hierarchical relations, and can be applied to the administration of an organization. This authority which has a basis in legality, and and inclination for the formality of rules and policies is fully applicable to this corporate entity as the structure enables for an anonymous, definite relation between the dominators and the dominated. Weber puts forth that obedience is determined by fear or hope—fear of the vengeance of the power-holder, and hope for reward. In the business organization, individual players at the bottom of the pyramid definitely demonstrate this attitude in regards to the relation between them and their superiors. A typical worker in the capitalist economy seeks to move upwards, and therefore must do a good job, and adhere to the rules established by their superiors in order to be favored for promotion. This demonstrates the above duality of fear and hopes; fear to get fired, or retrograded, and hope for advancement, higher pay, etc… The superiors (CEO, and board executives) have authority due to the power they exert on said individual players, as their...
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...establishing and transferring the legitimacy of his father Charlemagne’s rule. Einhard stated that his two reasons for writing this biography were to share the “splendid life” of the king (136) and to honor his relationship with Charles and his children (136). This almost certainly included a relationship with Louis since he was the clear heir to the throne for several years (145). This relationship and Einhard’s previous position on Louis’ court likely brought him to write this biography as a tool to honor his deceased friend while serving the political goal of legitimizing Louis’ rule. Einhard accomplished this goal by legitimizing Charlemagne’s rise to power, using Charles’ deeds to justify his own reign, and transferring this legitimacy to Louis through a clear line of succession....
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...framework of government * => Constitutionalism should be distinguished from the mere possession of a constitution * Written constitutions may provide few effective constraints on government or may be ignored, and governments may be effectively constrained w/o a written constitution (e.g. Britain) * Constitutionalism often (does not mean it necessarily equals to) associated specifically with liberalism, protection of individual rights against the state. * => constitutional state identified not by possession of a constitution but by its effective protection of individual rights. * (but individual rights only one set of fundamental principles that might impose meaningful limits on power of the state) * Constitutionalism also used to constrain power holders to care for the common weal or adhere to particular conceptions of national identity or religious law * 3-fold classification of province of constitutionalism * Normative Constitutionalism (most touched-on area) * Concerned with problem of how to reconcile constitutionalism and democracy * Asks questions like how best to legitimize practice of judicial review, how constitutional texts to be interpreted, what’s the best conception of democracy, what set of constitutional rights most worthy of recognition: interpretation, content, structure * Conceptual Constitutionalism * Concerned with what...
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...SUBJECT: - SOCIOLOGY TITLE OF THE PROJECT: - POWER AND AUTHORITY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: - The researcher will have a doctrinal approach towards the Project. Information for the Project will be collected from Books, Journals and Internet. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This Project couldn’t have been successfully completed without the support and guidance of our Sociology Professor, M. Lakshmipati Raju Sir and we would like to express our immense gratitude to him for his constant support and motivation that has encouraged us to come up with this project. Lastly, we would like to thank our classmates for their whole hearted support at all times during the course of the Project. Thanking You Rahul Kr. Dubey CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………..4 2. WHAT IS POWER?.......................................................................................................5 A. THE EMERGENCE OF POWER…………………………………………6 B. THE DIVISION OF POWER……………………………………………..9 3. WHAT IS AUTHORITY…...…………………………………………………………9 A. POLITICAL AUTHORITY……...………………………………………11 4. THE DEMOCRATIC CONCEPTION OF POLITICAL AUTHORITY………..….15 5. THE RELATIONSHIP AND DISTINCTION BETWEEN POWER AND AUTHORITY………………….........................................
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...Main article: Authority (sociology) Max Weber, in his sociological and philosophical work, identified and distinguished three types of legitimate domination (Herrschaft in German, which generally means 'domination' or 'rule'), that have sometimes been rendered in English translation as types of authority, because domination isn't seen as a political concept in the first place.[citation needed] Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled. Weber divided legitimate authority into three types: * The first type discussed by Weber is Rational-legal authority. It is that form of authority which depends for its legitimacy on formal rules and established laws of the state, which are usually written down and are often very complex. The power of the rational legal authority is mentioned in the constitution. Modern societies depend on legal-rational authority. Government officials are the best example of this form of authority, which is prevalent all over the world. * The second type of authority is Traditional authority, which derives from long-established customs, habits and social structures. When power passes from one generation to another, then it is known as traditional authority. The right of hereditary monarchs to rule furnishes an obvious example. The Tudor dynasty in England and the ruling families...
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...pessimistic view of people. His view was that humans were mean creatures who would do anything to better their positions. Also that people could not be trusted to make decisions on their own and a country needed an authority figure to provide direction and leadership. Therefore, he believed in monarchy- a government that gave all power to a king or queen. He said that democracy would never work because people were only interested in promoting their own self-interests. Despite this doubt of democracy, he believed that a contrasting group of representatives presenting the problems of the common person would prevent a king from being unfair and cruel. Hobbes originates the phrase 'Voice of the people' meaning one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views. Legitimacy of government Hobbes was a dedicated materialist. The views that got him in trouble were related to this, as Hobbes claimed to believe in God, but believed that since only the material universe existed, God must be a material being, just one with great powers. Hobbes sought legitimacy for government not founded in religion, because his sort of religion wasn't what most Christians would regard as Christianity. He also saw that a new source of legitimacy for the state was needed, because kings and priests had been working very hard at...
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...1. a. Augustine included all earthly beings to represent the “City of Man”, which is imperfect. The temporal authority disciplines the sinful man through law and education. On the other hand, the seamless “City of God” preserves the divine values of peace, hope and charity. They may occupy different jurisdictions and hold different values, they are still related because they both existed. Based on Aquinas’ account, the state or temporal authority is the author and executor of human law, who punishes through iniquities and encouragement through virtue. The church or the ecclesiastical authority is the interpreter of divine law through natural law. It would appear that the ecclesiastical authority is necessary in advising the state relating to moral legislation. b. The main purpose of politics is for the people to keep peace, and Christians are the best to rule the political society, based on St. Augustine. On his book, Civitas Dei, it has been cited that a Good Christian Leader should lead the people into obedience of God, and then the government will be just. He mainly focuses on the belief that God should be the one to be followed. Contrarily, St. Aquinas puts into account that the leader’s rules should benefit to the common good of the people. This should guide the people to have a good life. Also, the government of humans should also be involved because the divine reason, which is needed to live a virtuous life, couldn’t be simply understood. 2. As for Niccolo Machiavelli...
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...According to Weber, authority is power accepted as legitimate by those subjected to it. These three forms of authority are said to appear in a "hierarchical development order". States progress from charismatic authority, to traditional authority, and finally reach the state of rational-legal authority which is characteristic of a modern liberal democracy. However in this paper, we will try to agree with Max Weber’s statement that, legal – rational authority is the most rational type of authority, while giving reasons to our argument. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state (in the form of Members of Parliament, Judges, Police Officers, etc.) or by academic knowledge of an area (someone can be an authority on a subject). The word "Authority" with capital "A”, refers to the governing body upon which such authority (with lower case "a") is vested ( Arendt, 1961: 53). However, authority is often used interchangeably in governments with the term "power". However, their meanings differ. Authority refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to exercise power (Spencer, 1970: 258). For example, while a mob has the power to punish a criminal, for example by lynching, people who believe in the rule of law consider that only a court of law to have the authority to order capital punishment. Max Weber, in his sociological and philosophical work, identified and distinguished three types of legitimate domination that have sometimes been rendered...
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...Hobbes versus Locke: State of Nature and Legitimacy By David Feinman In the study of political theory and the analysis of the role of the sovereign in western society, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two of the most in fluential figures. Their philosophies on the way in which man lived before forming societies have be en the backbone of the discussion of the state of nature and the legitimacy of the sovereign for ma ny centuries. Hobbes, seeing the natural world as a nasty, brutish place of perpetual war, sees the legitim acy of a sovereign as being unquestioned and that of a paternal figure that instills order in a world without law or reason. Locke, in opposition, views the state of nature as a peaceful place where man can enjoy equa lity and liberty, and he believes that a sovereign’s legitimacy comes from the consent of the people whom he serves and protects, and who can remove him from power when he ceases to do so. This essay analy zes the differing opinions on the idea of a state of nature in Hobbes’ Leviathan and Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government , and how those views influenced their ideas on the legitimacy of the sovereign. In terms of the state of nature, Hobbes a nd Locke see two very different worlds. In Leviathan , Hobbes sees the state of nature as a perpetual state of war “where every man is Enemy to every man.” 1 Without “a common Power to keep them all in awe, th ey are in the condition wh ich is...
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...The honesty of our democratically elected politicians is constantly scrutinised by their constituents, peers, the press and the nation as a whole. The recent expenses scandal provides an example as to why national and global societies have suspicious feelings toward the intentions of politicians. This essay will highlight the fact that the role of a professional politician, where instant decisive and important decisions need to be made, and the context sometimes require democratically elected politicians, engaged in a social contract with the electorate, to lie to safeguard the greater good of national and global citizens. Due to the volume of theory and discourse related to this topic, it would not be practical to analyse all aspects to this question. However, this essay will examine the following: first, it will look at the unique nature of the role of a politician, followed by an overview of the social contract theory and the contributions made to it by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Rawls. Then, the work of Niccolo Machiavelli and the notion of Reason of State will be examined, followed, in turn, by Utilitarianism, commenting on the contributions of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. This will be done before going onto balance the essay by introducing a counterargument offered by Idealism. Finally, to contextualise the thesis, there will be a contemporary example given of a world leader having to lie for the greater good of global citizens for...
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...Reflection Organisational legitimacy, capacity and capacity development Mobilising against hunger and for life: An analysis of Derick W. Brinkerhoff capacity and change in a Brazilian network John Saxby Pretoria, South Africa Discussion paper No 58A June 2005 European Centre for Development Policy Management Centre européen de gestion des politiques de développement Study of Capacity, Change and Performance Notes on the methodology The lack of capacity in low-income countries is one of the main constraints to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Even practitioners confess to having only a limited understanding of how capacity actually develops. In 2002, the chair of Govnet, the Network on Governance and Capacity Development of the OECD, asked the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) in Maastricht, the Netherlands to undertake a study of how organisations and systems, mainly in developing countries, have succeeded in building their capacity and improving performance. The resulting study focuses on the endogenous process of capacity development - the process of change from the perspective of those undergoing the change. The study examines the factors that encourage it, how it differs from one context to another, and why efforts to develop capacity have been more successful in some contexts than in others. The study consists of about 20 field cases carried out according to a methodological framework with seven components, as follows:...
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...CSS 105 COURSE GUIDE COURSE GUIDE CSS105 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE Course Developer Dr. Derin K. Ologbenla University Of Lagos Akoka – Lagos. Dr. Derin K. Ologbenla Course Writer University Of Lagos Akoka – Lagos. Course Co-ordinator Dr. Godwin Ifidon Oyakhiromen National Open University of Nigeria Lagos. NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA ii CSS 105 COURSE GUIDE National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters 14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island Lagos Abuja Annex 245 Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun Street Central Business District Opposite Arewa Suites Abuja e-mail: centralinfo@nou.edu.ng URL: www.nou.edu.ng National Open University of Nigeria 2006 First Printed 2006 ISBN: 978-058-434-X All Rights Reserved Printed by Goshen Print Media Ltd For National Open University of Nigeria iii CSS 105 COURSE GUIDE Contents Introduction......................................................................... Aims................................................................................... Objectives........................................................................... Working through the Course.............................................. Course Materials................................................................ Study Units........................................................................ Textbooks and References.................................................. Assessment.......................................
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