Power and Authority.
A simple definition of power could be the ability both to demand that people do something, and to say how a thing should be done or organised. Authority, however, is where power is granted by consent; and when an individual or committee is said to have authority, the reason that justifies this authority is known as legitimacy. In general, the government has authority because it has legitimacy through: tradition, as Parliament has existed for hundreds of years; charisma, as many people may follow present PM Tony Blair through the strength and attraction of his personality; and democratically through the people, as they vote in elections for the MP or party they wish to form the government. An example of an organisation that has power but not necessarily authority would be the Mafia, which exercise their power by sometimes using violence and force, or money, status, education or sex. In Liberal Democracies such as the UK, power is split into three types: legislative power, which is the power to make laws; executive power, which is the power to implement laws; and judicial power, which is the power to interpret laws.The two concepts of power and authority can be understood in different ways, for example Steven Luke's three faces
The second dimension focuses on 'non decision making', or using power to prevent certain decisions or discussions from being made. The distinctions made by Weber between different types of authority oppose those of many other political theorists due to the fact that his idea of authority was based on the characteristics of the relation between leaders and followers, rather than the attributes of the leader alone. Also, Luke's theory believes that power only occurs when there is a conflict of interests, such the conflict between working class interests and middle/upper class interests. In this decision making process, power lies in the Government. Although traditional authority may be associated with pre - modern societies due to the undemocratic nature, Britain and many other countries have the tradition of a hereditary monarchy, which demands that a new monarch commands as much obedience and loyalty as the previous monarch commanded. The third and final dimension or 'face' of Lukes' Marxist view on power is different from the above two; it believes people in positions of power have the ability to shape and manipulate desires of different social groups. An example of this in practise would be the government proposing a law; it would be thoroughly debated in both chambers and in the Cabinet, and eventually the bill may become and Act. The statement 'A has power over B to the extent that they can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do' can define Lukes' Marxist theory. Rational - legal authority depends upon a formal set of rules that give those who hold authority the right to command others. A social group may be persuaded to accept or wish for certain situations without realising that sometimes it is not for their benefit. The last type of authority defined by the functionalist is rational-legal authority. These two sociologist's theories discuss the concepts of power and authority in three stages; Weber distinguished three main modes of claiming legitimacy, and Lukes derived a definition of power in three stages. Although this notion of charisma may lack a straight definition, its importance lies in Weber's development of the idea that the leader derives his role from the belief that his followers have about his mission. Also, many people think that the Government's use of referendums falls into the category of 'non- decision making' as they public feel that they are being involved with the running of the country and so democracy is increased whereas the Government is still in power as they are not obliged to follow the referendum's decision. The same example applies: the Government could be accused of doing this in referendums as they sometimes hold them to make the public believe it is democratic when they are actually taking place for their benefit.
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