Politics, Culture, and identities

In the socially stratified society where everyone tries to attain power at the detriment of others, the representation of authority

What makes a political authority legitimate? A legitimate political authority, in this essay, will be taken to mean that there is a justification for an individual or a body to have power over other people in determining such things as laws and protection of freedom. To consider this question, three theories shall be looked at – Hobbes’, Rousseau and finally Locke and determine which gives the most persuasive account of legitimate political authority. To begin with, their hypothetical starting point, the state of nature, shall be discussed to establish the foundations of their political authority. Secondly, the reasons that shall lead man to get out of the state of nature will be examined in order to see if these logically follow on from

When looking into the ideas of political theorists it is important to the use of political concepts that may play an important role in what the theorists are suggesting and also how they may affect the relationship between to state and the individuals living within a state. The concepts that will be looked at within this essay are: power, authority and also accountability.

The purpose of this essay is to analyse Weber’s theory of authority and power in order to establish its role in the modern contemporary world today. Weber, in his most acclaimed writings, discusses his three ideal types of authority being outlined as traditional, charismatic and rational-legal authority. He believes that in order for any political leader or political establishment to hold legitimate authority over its peoples, they must have either one of these types of authority. All of these types of power and authority can be referred to in some way in today’s contemporary world using examples of differing political leaders and systems. However, Weber’s writings were conducted in 1922 and may be considered as out-dated, and not as relevant as they were at his time of writing. Also, many dispute that Weber’s types of authority were perhaps not entirely relatable and Martin Spencer, like many other critics of Weber’s work in fact argue that there should have been four types of authority. Hence why these issues must be discussed in order to conclude whether Weber’s ideal types of authority are representative of political leaders and governments, and whether or not they can be associated with the contemporary world we live in today.

To understand political power aright, and derive it from its original, we must consider what estate all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of Nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man (...)

Terrence Cook (1980) identifies eight categories of standards that are referred to in the justification of political appeals – prudence, tradition, the supernatural, (human) nature, law, public opinion, prestige suggestion, and ideals. He writes, “Sometimes standards are implicit in myths or metaphors, symbolizations which are more than decoration when they tap through concretization of otherwise cold cognitions” (516). In fact, he may be referring to the power of fundamental, (almost) universally accepted principles that are woven into the constitutive ‘myths’ and stories of social realities. Only tacit allusion to these principles is required to trigger them within an audience and engage that audience in their own persuasion.

“The Power Elite” by C. Wright Mills deals with the question of whether or not there are people who control society. The author suggests that a collection of people from different aspects of government, such as the military, industrial, and political sectors, all play a role in dictating public sentiment and action. He also takes into account that it is likely that the leaders from each element of control may not intentionally operate in the same interest and at times may work against each other. However, it is evident that there are minds and entities that exert control over the population and the establishments, schools and churches, which they flock to in the pursuit of knowledge. There is nothing to suggest that there are not individuals

A world of system designed to keep people in unjust and unequal positions is held in place by several interrelated expression of "power over": political power, economic power, physical force, and ideological power (Bishop, 1994: 36). So, we can say power is defined as a possession of control, authority or influence over others. In terms of power of dominant groups over subordinate groups, we define power as domination of one group of people over another in major important spheres of life. Power inequities have been in existence throughout the history of humanity and the ways of manifestation evolved from extreme overt oppression to subtle, covert oppression. Three major forms of power inequalities discussed in this paper are

For hegemony to work the dominated group must be considered, their interests noted and concessions given – this is because the dominated group always have a level of consciousness about their subordination, so concessions become vital to preserve the stability of government. Milliband’s research showed how politicians, senior police and judges acted in the interest of capitalists. Pountzas sees the state as an independent institution of society – that the ruling class does not govern directly but its

We have to contend, in the exercise of our personal power, with the influences of such power-channels in our environments and how they add to, limit or distort our exercise of power - e.g. hierarchies, coalitions,

For instance, he “demanded absolute obedience from [his] wife and children” (Max Weber Britannica) which caused a dysfunctional environment for Weber to grow up in. This contributed to the inner agonies that would haunt Weber for the rest of his life. Moreover, his childhood taught him a variety of lessons about obedience and respect, which resulted in him to embrace new heights with intellectual thought. This led him to: military service, enrolling in the University of Heidelberg for Legal and Economic History (1882), and transferring to the University of Berlin for similar education purposes (1883). Weber’s true legacy officially began in 1893 (Max Weber Britannica). During this year, Weber received a temporary position teaching jurisprudence at the University of Berlin. His motivation brought himself to studying a variety of topics in relation to the law field and this sprung his revolutionary thoughts to occur. That being, the Theory of Legitimacy, a new method of understanding behavior and the theory based on how capitalism is the result of Protestantism (Max Weber Stanford Encyclopedia). The Theory of Legitimacy creates emphasis on where authority originated from. For instance, questioning how Jesus, being a charismatic leader, held social power during his reign (Social Power Theory

The groups that have political power are able to show their power by creating dominant norms, values or culture. They have the power to decide what is seen to be as criminal acts and what is breaking the law in order to protect themselves and their interests and also control activities carried out by other groups. For example, those who are white, male, and wealthy and possess political power are dominants within society and those who are of the minority group and are not wealthy are named as the subordinate group. These groups are usually seen

Through analyzing the written works of Max Weber’s Types of Legitimate Domination and Bureaucracy to C. Wright Mills’ The Sociological Imagination, the writings of the comparative authors reveal the domination of power in a socially constructed society and the way that individuals are influenced by the constructed hierarchy of power. Through sociological analysis, these concepts can be applied to the ways individuals are continuously influenced through socially constructed institutions in a society where individuals constantly interact with one another. As Mills and Weber apply sociological analysis to the context of their observations, they are able to observe the growing positive and negative influences that ultimately shape the

Political theory is the study of concepts that allows for the analytical study of relationships between political institutions. Over the centuries, political theorists have established renditions of what political theory is. This essay will focus on Plato, Nietzsche, and Aristotle, and their works, which respectively define the concepts of the common good and the significance of philosophers to the welfare of the state, self-deceiving intellect and the power of authority over our intellectual lives, and the concepts of interdependency and the importance of virtue and happiness for a successful political framework.

“Truth is anything society deems it to be” is considerable right when our society believes that the only method of determining the “truth” is through laws and ideologies, which have been administered by the upper class Europeans. Our laws have been constructed to support the interest of the majority population, which supports their interest rather, then the general citizens. That being said, who created the legislation and administers laws, and who has the resources and inclination to challenge these laws? (Branch, 129). This question will be answered through the theories of Max Weber and Karl Marx who will be compared in regards to the construction of the legal knowledge, how law has become the truth in societies with the help of the