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nature of authority in power
essay on power and authority of max weber
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Waking up on the typical Monday morning, I feel groggy and confused. What day is today? I think it over and realize it is the dreaded Monday. Wishing it was still Sunday, I slowly get up and, like a snail, complete my morning routine. On my way to Hunter, everything is the usual–waiting for the suddenly delayed train, rushing through the massive horde of people trying to transfer trains, and finally arriving at school along with hundreds of others. I notice that the train station has set up a table lined with police officers checking passengers’ “suspicious” bags. The person in front of me gets called over by the police and she complies, by allowing the police officer to look through her bag. I keep walking as this is nothing out of the ordinary. During English class, my professor wants us to free-write for ten minutes. Everyone listens and begins frantically writing. I am finally done with all my classes for the day and while on the train, a performer enters with a charismatic air. He presents his speech and begins to dance. He is unlike the usual performers; there is something to him that they didn’t have. Riders alike take out their wallets to praise the performer on a job well done. What a normal day.
Authority is all around us, and it is a part of our daily lives. We listen to those we believe to be in charge of us and never give our obedience a second thought. What is authority? According to Max Weber, a German sociologist, authority is the legitimate power which one person or group holds over another and does not involve force or violence (10). Weber goes on to construct his “Tripartite Model of Authority” in which he narrows down the definition of authority into three sub-categories: legal/rational authority, traditional...
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...eems as though he is comatose. Of course, this is a mere summary of the experiment and the results are just shocking. I encourage reading further about this experiment and you can do so at http://www.physics.utah.edu/~detar/phys4910/readings/ethics/PerilsofObedience.html. It is dangerous to mindlessly comply with the demands of authority, yet it is just as dangerous to consistently defy their orders. It may be thrilling once in a while to be a rebel, but taking on the status of a rebel is both deleterious for you and society. Neither society nor the individual can function without authority, as without it, society will become chaotic. It is at best, to be a temporary rebel.
Works Cited
Parrish, Tina. “Jonestown.” Jonestown. San Diego State University, 14 May 2012. Web.
02 Nov. 2013
Weber, Max. “Power, Authority, and the State.” SagePub.com. Web. 02 Nov. 2013
While having too much authority can lead to complication and dilemmas, too little authority can lead to an overthrow of leaders in a situation. Authority is like a ticking time
Why is it we give authority to certain people? What allows us to test them? In the book All Quiet on the Western Front Remarque questions what power we put into figures of authority from seeing how they view Kantorek, the Kaiser and Himmelstoss.
Authority can only become an issue once the rights of the individual are being impinged, a concept represented in both V for Vendetta and the Stanford Prison Experiment. These two texts, along with the study of the concept of authority and the individual, have expanded my understanding of myself, individuals and the world. It has especially broadened my knowledge on the crossover of the concept, the ability for the individual to have authority and the ability for both sides to be perceived as good or bad and the power of a person’s individuality. “The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces.”
The central question of federalism is “Who should do what?” National government supporters believe only a strong central government is capable of ensuring the rights and liberties of its citizens. States’ rights advocates argue for limiting the implied powers of the national government. Federalism was a compromise for the conflict of states’ rights versus central authority. Federalism divides power between the national and the lower level governments with each having distinct powers that the other cannot override. (pg. 46)
Contrary to what I believed in the past, the United States federal government retained and expanded their power and authority during the years of the Civil war along with the period of Reconstruction. Through drafts and monitored elections, they exercised this power during the Civil War. Then, as Reconstruction began, they initiated other methods of increasing their authority over the citizens. Military was placed in Southern states, by the federal government, in order to keep control over the rebellious people. Not only that, but, the idea of putting the federal government in charge of Reconstruction and rebuilding an entire nation gave them an enormous amount of power. Finally, the creation of the 14th and 15th Amendment were two more big achievements on the part of the government.
The courtroom is a ritualised space, involving costume, language, spatial organisation and so on, and courts, therefore, constitute performative exercises of power. Discuss some of the ways in which courts demonstrate power and/or power relations.
Access to the law and legal system is the ability to shape it, both in its meaning and
Through my research and findings of obedience to authority this ancient dilemma is somewhat confusing but needs understanding. Problem with obedience to authority has raised a question to why people obey or disobey and if there are any right time to obey or not to obey. Through observation of many standpoints on obedience and disobedience to authority, and determined through detailed examination conducted by Milgram “The Perils Of Obedience,” Doris Lessing “Group Minds” and Shirley Jackson “The Lottery”. We have to examine this information in hopes of understanding or at least be able to draw our own theories that can be supported and proven on this subject.
Introduction Individuals often yield to conformity when they are forced to discard their individual freedom in order to benefit the larger group. Despite the fact that it is important to obey the authority, obeying the authority can sometimes be hazardous, especially when morals and autonomous thought are suppressed to an extent that the other person is harmed. Obedience usually involves doing what a rule or a person tells you to, but negative consequences can result from displaying obedience to authority; for example, the people who obeyed the orders of Adolph Hitler ended up killing innocent people during the Holocaust. In the same way, Stanley Milgram noted in his article ‘Perils of Obedience’ of how individuals obeyed authority and neglected their conscience, reflecting how this can be destructive in real life experiences. On the contrary, Diana Baumrind pointed out in her article ‘Review of Stanley Milgram’s Experiments on Obedience’ that the experiments were not valid, hence useless.
Raven, Bertram, and John French. Jr. "Legitimate Power, Coercive Power, and Observability in Social Influence ." Sociometry Vol. 21.No. 2 (1958): 83. Web. 2 Aug 2010. .
They are not only its inert or consenting target; they are always also the elements of its articulation” (Foucault, “Two Lectures” 34). Power may take various forms, all of which are employed and exercised by individualsand unto individuals in the institutions of society. In all institutions, there is political and judicial power, as certain individuals claim the right to give orders, establish rules, and so forth as well as the right to punish and award. For example, in school, the professor not only teaches, but also dictates, evaluates, as well as punishes and rewards.
In “The Conflict of Autonomy and Authority” Robert Paul Wolff argues that the state’s authority is in conflict with having genuine autonomy. He reasons as follows. If there were a supreme political authority, which have a right to rule, there would be an obligation for a man to obey its laws. However, a man has an obligation to be autonomous, which means taking responsibility for making one’s own decisions about what one should do. Autonomous man has primary obligation to refuse to be ruled. Therefore, a supreme political authority does not have a right to claim authority over a man who has a moral obligation to be autonomous. He concludes by denying the concept of de jure legitimate state.
C. Wright Mills in his article “ The Structure of Power in American Society” writes that when considering the types of power that exist in modern society there are three main types which are authority, manipulation and coercion. Coercion can be seen as the “last resort” of enforcing power. On the other hand, authority is power that is derived from voluntary action and manipulation is power that is derived unbeknownst to the people who are under that power.
When power becomes legitimate, it is then recognized as authority (Denhardt et al, 2001). Power becomes authority when it is accepted and even desired by society. As stated by the course study notes, “authority refers to a situation where a person (or group) has been formally granted a leadership position”. An individual has authority when everyday norms and regulations support the exercising of power by that individual. In an organizational setting, “authority is hierarchal and vested in positions” (Week 9 Study Notes), which are defined by “organizational charts, positions and rules” (Week 9 Study Notes). Generally, power in authority also involves the possibility of rewards such as promotions and good performance reviews.
Weber defines a modern state as “a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory [Weber 1919/1994, 310].” According to Weber’s theory there are three kinds of leaders- charismatic, traditional and bureaucratic. He identified 3 types of Authorities. Traditional Authority owes its source to customary practices. Certain practices and institutions exist for so long that they are transmitted from one generation to another and as a consequence people accept their authority