Power and authority

Overview

Weber on power, authority and coercion, formal and informal power, traditional, charismatic and rational-legal authority, agencies of social control and Althusser's state apparatuses.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   How did Weber define power?

   Model answer

   Weber defined power as the ability to get your own way even when others resist. Power can rest on consent or on force.

2. 2

   What is the difference between authority and coercion?

   Model answer

   Authority is power that people accept as legitimate, so they obey willingly. Coercion is power based on force or the threat of force, obeyed against people's will.

3. 3

   What is a formal source of power? Give an example.

   Model answer

   Formal power comes from an official position backed by rules or law. A police officer can lawfully arrest someone because of the office the officer holds.

4. 4

   What is an informal source of power? Give an example.

   Model answer

   Informal power comes from personal qualities, relationships or social pressure rather than an official post. A popular teenager can steer what friends wear and do.

5. 5

   Name Weber's three types of authority.

   Model answer

   Weber identified traditional, charismatic and rational-legal authority. Economy and Society, published in 1922, sets out all three.

6. 6

   What is traditional authority? Give a UK example.

   Model answer

   Traditional authority rests on custom and long-established ways of doing things. The monarch's position comes from hereditary succession rather than election or personal appeal.

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