Politics as term has innumerable meanings and to it certainly applies the phrase “the focal term”. Thus, the term has more meanings which refer to the number of points and the phenomenon. Politics is a very complex social reality which is inseparable from the life of all of us. As such, it is not alone in the ''scene'' but is affected by a lot of factors. Authority and personal thought are certainly one of them. In following paper we will try in the best way to explain both factors and the way they affect the politics and advantages and disadvantages of both phenomena in political theory.
Authority and politics are terms used daily. These are two quite important concept of the human being. Although at first sight these two terms look different,
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Power is the property of the authority - without it, power doesn’t exists. In contrast, the power may have authority but it is not implied. The power is a means of authority in politics. Authority is used in a way that is most appropriate. Holders of authority in politics can be personality, certain corporate bodies, institutions, organizations, parties, norms, laws and others. It is hard to imagine a policy that has no authority. When the majority of a society or polity recognizes the authority and when it has complete control over his subjects, there will always be those who critically bring it into question or challenge it. Thus, the advantages of authority lie in the fact that it keeps order in the community and insists on respect for the law. But surely there are bad things related to the authority, it can easily evolved in an authoritarian regime. There, where democracy is at a low level, where institutions do not work, some figure or a group of people can change the regime which results with slipping into …show more content…
Autonomous person is a person who is in its decision independent from the group, the public opinion, and the pressure of societies and cultures. Autonomous personality is a mature person who has built the internal standards of moral and social behavior and independence in behavior and opinion, particularly in relation to authorities. This is one of the characteristics of Maslow’s self-actualized personality and Fromm’s productive character.
The question is whether the autonomous personality becomes rare and endangered species? We see that the self-conscious and autonomous thinking is less and less heard in the public space, whether it's about culture, politics, education, science, economics ... It seems that the figure of the personality who has personal opinion, which goes against the current, gives way to a citizen with his head bowed, who can and wants to remain diplomatically correct and
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
To hold authority is to possess power, and when one has power over a person or people he or she is generally feared. In t...
The concept of authority is tied to an original source or a genesis that stands at the foundation upon which other structures are based on. This idea was offered a further credence by Hannah Arendt and her discussion on authority in the context of Roman experience. In her essay on ‘What is Authority’ Arendt argued that the word autoritas was coined from, a Latin verb augere or augment, and those in authority augment the democratic foundations of a state such as the ancient Roman polis. She argued that those who are in authority obtain their power by descent and by downward transmission from those who founded it. Coining from the political philosophies of Plato, Arendt argued that while the leaders amplified the foundations of authority, they are not the original creators. Rather, authority is based beyond the creation and control of rulers, kings, and philosophers, being analogous to natural laws or God’s commands. The mystical authority made it legit the exercise of power and the enforcement of obedience. Arendt sets an authority against both violence and non-violence by staging an opposition to authority as persuasion as well as coercion. Authority, neither entails the use of external force, so that,
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
In literary works by Gaetano Mosca and Max Weber, the idea of "power" can be extracted and further understood by examining related notions of power such as the "ruling class" and "legitimate domination" presented in them respectively. In particular, through the analysis of power, the distinction between individual and collective contexts of power becomes evident. That is, a difference in the idea of power is apparent when in the hands of one versus many. In both Mosca and Weber, the general meaning of power itself is similar, however, in their discussions the applications of individual and collective power diverge. In "The Ruling Class," Mosca begins by stating that in all civilized societies, people are divided into two classes, "a class that rules and a class that is ruled" (Mosca 50). Given his characterization of each class, collective power can be described by the ruling class and individual power by the ruled. On the other hand, while discussing different forms of political domination, in Weber's "Charisma and its Transformations," collective power is associated with the public, while individual power with the leader. In "Bureaucracy" however, this distinction between collective and individual power is less defined.
Control can be used for commanding others for any favorable reason, however, it can be harmful when it is used negatively by causing struggle and corrupting a society, in reality, the people who have the most control are the governments. On the other hand, authority can have a positive effect on people when it is used to maintain balance, however, it can be used to disorganized one, in actuality authority is given to the police or the people who control the law to keep the justice and to keep the peace. Finally, Strength relates to power and can have a good effect on people when it is used to benefit good people and solve problems, however it still could be used for bad like if it is used to harm or cause damage to something or someone. Power is control, authority, and strength, but how they are used determines if that power is good or
Political power results from the fear of force. The individual acts out of a fear of consequences of disobedience and in accordance with the desdire for self-preservation. Political Authority results from a belief in the moral correctness of the organization in question. The individual acts of a sense of obligation and acknowledges the right of the ruler, morally, to rule and the moral correctness of the laws are accepted. The laws are obeyed for their own sake.
Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an “emphasis on individual initiative” where people act independently of others and use self-motivation to prosper. The individualists “value privacy” over community the individual thrives to move ahead in life (U S Values).
Authority cannot exist without obedience. Society is built on this small, but important concept. Without authority and its required obedience, there would only be anarchy and chaos. But how much is too much, or too little? There is a fine line between following blindly and irrational refusal to obey those in a meaningful position of authority. Obedience to authority is a real and powerful force that should be understood and respected in order to handle each situation in the best possible manner.
The important area of debate in the definition of politics is where the political world ends and the other areas of the world start; if it is made clear where each perspective views this barrier to occur then by evaluating a perspective against its competitors a conclusio...
Authority is the position to which power is awarded by the organization (Allen, 2010). Therefore, the assistant accepts authority of the position holder because they believe it is assigned legitimately. Authority can be present without power or power without authority. It comprises a right to command a situation, give orders and expect them to be obeyed, and is accompanied by equal responsibility for one’s action/failure to act.
According to their theory, the independent construal of self is best exemplified by the North American and West European cultures, where the person is looked upon as a “b...
Frank J. Goodnow’s “Politics and Administration,” infers that politics and administration cannot be divided and are in need of each other to function. However, politics are superior to administration. Goodnow’s further analyzes and identifies three forms of authorities that enforce and implements states will. The first responsibility of authority is to respect the right of the people when conflicts ascend between either private or public matters. The second is judicial authorities also referred to as executive authorities that ensure the needs and policies of the state are executed. The third authority also referred to as “administrative authorities,” focuses on the mechanical, scientific and business authorities pertaining to the government.
Politics is the means for attaining valued things. Although, valued things are different in every society, the means of securing those things has never changed. The competition for power, authority and influence will always be the backbone of politics. Applying power, authority and influence to the valued things that support the public good, will produce the quality of life a society desires. In the present day, citizens in the United States demand certain valued things such as welfare, education, safe streets and healthcare. Through politics, citizens can apply their power in many different ways to get the things they want. Power is the ability to get someone to do something they may or may not want to do. Through the use of or the application of coercion, persuasion, manipulation and negotiation, power is used to influence the system.
He thinks and acts, whether that is as an individual or as a group who share interests, with foremost regard to his own interests. Self-perpetuation is the number one rule. He therefore possesses his own interests, ideas and preferences, which may