Authority
legitimate power; power that people consider legitimate, as rightly exercised over them
coercion
illegitimate power; the act of compelling by force of authority; the power that people do no accept as just
Traditional Authority
legitimate power conferred by custom and accepted practice
State
a political entity that claims monopoly on the use of violence in some particular territory, commonly known as a country
Authority and Legitimate Violence
As sociologist Peter Berger observed, it makes little difference whether you willingly pay the fine that the judge levies against you or refuse to pay it. the court will get its money one way or another.
The government/state, claims monopoly on legitimate
Max Weber, 3 sources of authority
traditional; rational-legal; charismatic
traditional authority
authority based on custom; although traditional authority declines with industrialization, it never dies out. Even though we live in a postindustrial society, parents continue to exercise authority over their children because parents always have had such
rational-legal authority
rational (reasonable) legal (law); authority based on law and written rules and regulations aka bureaucratic authority (1) rational-legal authority comes from the position someone holds, not from the person who hold that position, ex: US - presidents auth
charismatic authority
authority based on an individual's outstanding traits, which attract followers; people believe a person is touched by god or has been endowed by with exceptional qualities; following their own personal inclination, charismatic leaders can inspire follower
routinization of charisma
the transfer of authority from a charismatic figure to either a traditional or rational-legal form of authority; charismatic authority has no rules of succession, making it less stable than either of the other two types of authority; because charismatic a
Transfer of Authority
orderly transfer of authority from one leader to another is crucial for social stability (1) under traditional authority, people know who is next in line (2) under rational-legal authority, people might not know who the next leader will be, but they do kn
city-state
an independent city whose power radiates outward, bringing the adjacent area under its' rule
monarchy
a form of government headed by king or queen
democracy
a government whose authority comes from the people
direct democracy
a form of democracy in which the eligible voters meet together to discuss issues and make their decisions
revolution
the overthrow of a government by those who are governed
representative democracy
a form of democracy in which voters elect representatives to meet together to discuss issues and make decisions on their behalf; US: power was vested to the people themselves, and the government was to flow from the people; implementation meant: the rever
citizenship
the concept that birth (and residence or naturalization) in a country imparts basic rights; there is nothing natural about citizenship, it is simply one way in which people choose to define themselves
universal citizenship
the idea that everyone has the same basic rights by virtue of being born in a country (or by immigrating and becoming a naturalized citizen)
dictatorship
form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority; seized power
oligarchy
form of government in which small group of individuals hold power, the rule of the many by the few
Totalitarianism
a form of government that exerts almost total control over its' people (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
Voting patterns
americans show constant voting patterns; (1) social integration: the more that people feel the have at stake in the political system, the more likely they are to vote (2) alienation: in constrst, those who gain less from the system, in terms of education,
voter apathy
a lack of interest to vote, a "Whatever" attitude
special-interest group
a group of people who support a particular issue and who can be mobilized for political action
lobbyists
people who influence legislation on behalf of their clients
political action committees PAC
organizations that collect money to distribute to candidates who support the same issues as the contributors; buying votes (also) an organization formed by one or more special interest groups to solicit and spend funds for the purpose of influencing legis
Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee (201)
supreme court ruled that the laws that limit the amount of corporations can contribute to politicians violate the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to political speech
Functionalist Perspective; Pluralism
functionalists view the state as having arisen out of the basic needs of the social group; to protect themselves from oppressors, people formed a government and gave it the monopoly on violence: the risk is that the state can turn that force against its o
Conflict Perspective; In sum
conflict theorists take the positions that the power elite dominates the US; this ruling class determines the economic and political conditions under which the rest of the country operates; we should not think of the power elite or ruling class as some se
Conflict Perspective; Power Elite, C. Wright Mills
C Wright Mills term for the top people in the US corporations, military, and politics who make the nation's major decisions
C Wright Mills took the position that the country's most important matters are not decided by lobbyists of even Congress; rather, t
Conflict Perspective; Ruling Class, William Domhoff
ruling class to refer to the power elite; focusing on the 1% of Americans who belong to the super-rich, the powerful capitalist class - from this group come most members of the president's cabinet and the ambassadors to the most powerful countries of the
anarchy
a condition of lawlessness or political disorder caused by the absences or collapse of governmental authority
pluralism
the diffusion of power among many interest groups which prevents any single group from gaining control of the governement
checks and balances
the separation of powers amount the three branches of US gov't: legislative, executive, judicial - so that each is able to nullify the actions of the other two, thus preventing any single branch from dominating the gov't
power elite
A political theory espoused by C. Wright Mills which holds that an elite of corporate leaders, top military officers, and key political leaders make most political decisions.
ruling class
the class of people exerting power or authority
war
armed conflict between nations or politically distinct groups; one option that politicians choose for dealing with disagreement
Why Countries Go to War: Nicolas Timasheff, Sociologist Perspective
Sociologists answer this question not by focuses on factors within humans, but by looking for social causes and conditions in society that encourage or discourage combat between nations.
Nicholas Timasheff identified three essential conditional for war: (
economy
the system of production and distribution and consumption
terrorism
the use of violence by groups against civilians to achieve a political goal; suicide terrorism: a weapon sometimes chosen by the weaker group
Terrorism Stereo-types, Marc Sageman, Sociologist
(1) terrorists come from backgrounds of poverty; cunning leaders take advantage of their frustration and direct it toward striking out at an enemy (a) not true 3/4 of the terrorists come from middle - upper classes (2) deranged loner (a) not true, Sageman
Radicalization, Choice for Terrorism, Marc Sageman
process of radicalization (1) moral outrage; they become angry even enrages, about something that they felt was terribly wrong (2) ideology; they interperted their moral outrage within a radical, militant understanding of Islamic teachings (3) shared outr
Seven fuels of war, Nicholas Timasheff
1. Revenge: settling old scores from earlier conflicts
2. Power: dominating weaker nation
3. Prestige: defending the nation's honor
4. Unity: uniting rival groups within their country
5. Leaders: protecting or exalting the leaders' positions
6. Ethnicity:
subsistence economy
a type of economy in which human groups live off the land with little or no surplus
conspicuous consumption
buying expensive services and products in order to flaunt your wealth
Daniel Bell
noted that a new type of society was emerging. Postindustrial society
Postindustrial society's six characteristics
1. Service sector so large that most people work in it.
2. A vast surplus of goods.
3. even more extensive trad among nations
4. a wider variety of quantity of good available to he average person
5. an information explosion
6 a global village. The worlds
capitalisim
economic system where ownership is maintained by private individuals, teaches you to work hard for what you earn
laissez-faire capitalism
This was the style of capitalism in which the government had no interference with the economy
welfare
governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need
socialism
A theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
market forces
the law of supply and demand
3 essentials that make up socialism
1. public ownership of the means of production
2. central planning
3. the distribution of goods without a profit motive.
democratic socialism
political system in which the government takes over the means of production peacefully; people retain basic human rights and partial control over economic planning
convergence theory
Theory of collective action stating that collective action happens when people with similar ideas and tendencies gather in the same place