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Political/Economic Institutions: Power and Authority. Unit 6: Social Institutions. Political and Economic Institutions. There is a very close connection between business and government Economic Institution: an institution that determines how goods and services are produced and distributed
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Political/Economic Institutions:Power and Authority Unit 6: Social Institutions
Political and Economic Institutions • There is a very close connection between business and government • Economic Institution: an institution that determines how goods and services are produced and distributed • Political Institution: an institution that determines how power is obtained and exercised
Power • According to Max Weber, power is the ability to control the behavior of others, even against their will • Power can take a variety of forms • Weber also defined another type of power, coercion: the use of physical force or threats to maintain control • Political systems based on coercive power will be unstable
Authority • Weber believed that a political institution must rest on a stable form of power to function and survive • Authority: is power accepted as legitimate by those who are subject to it
Forms of Authority • Weber Identified 3 Types of Authority: charismatic, traditional, and rational-legal • Charismatic: authority that arises from the personality of the individual (MLK, JFK) • They lead from the power of their personalities and trust that is inspired by it • Charismatic is too unstable to function alone in a modern state because it is difficult to transfer • Governments under Charismatic authority must eventually rely on other forms of authority
Forms of Authority • Traditional Authority: forms of authority in which the legitimacy of the leader is rooted in customs • Monarchy are based on tradition b/c only certain people can replace the king • Rational-Legal Authority: authority in which the power of government officials is based on the offices they hold (the power is in the office rather than the official) • People in offices are expected to operated based on rules and procedures that define and limit that office • Because the authority lies in the position, the person loses power when they leave office • People in power can lose power if they abuse it
Types of Political Systems • There are 3 basic types of political systems • Democratic • Totalitarian • Authoritarian