SOCI 1010 Chapter 11

 Authority

Also legitimate power; power that people consider legitimate, as rightly exercised over them

Coercion

Also illegitimate power; power that people do not except as rightly exercised over them

State

A political entity that claims monopoly on the use of violence in some particular territory; commonly known as a country

Who pointed out that the state claims both the exclusive right to use violence and the right to punish everyone else who uses violence?

Max Weber

What three sources of authority did Max Weber identify?

Traditional, rational-legal, charismatic

Traditional Authority

Authority based on custom

Which source of authority is the hallmark of tribal groups and monarchies?

Traditional authority

Rational-Legal Authority

Also bureaucratic authority; authority based on laws were written rules and regulation (rational – reasonable; legal – part of law)

Charismatic Authority

Greek, charisma, "a gift freely and graciously given"; authority based on an individual's outstanding traits, which attract followers

Why are people drawn to charismatic individuals?

They believe that the individual has been touched by God or has been endowed by nature with exceptional qualities.

Why do charismatic leaders pose a threat to the established political order?

(1) following their personal inclination, they can inspire followers to disregard or even overthrow traditional and rational-legal authority; (2) charismatic leaders do not owe allegiance to anyone or anything.

How is traditional authority transferred from one leader to another?

There is no question about succession, as custom dictates who is next in line.

How is rational-legal authority transferred from one leader to another?

The people might not know who the next leader will be, they know how that leader will be selected.

How is charismatic authority transferred from one leader to another?

Because it is built around a single individual and there are no rules for succession, the death or incapacitation of a charismatic leader can mean a better struggle for succession.

What do some charismatic leaders do to avoid a power struggle?

They make arrangements for an orderly transition of power by appointing a successor or building an organization.

Routinization of Charisma

The transfer of authority from a charismatic figure to either a traditional or rational-legal form of authority

City-State

An independent city whose power radiates outward, bringing the adjacent area under it's rule

Monarchy

A form of government headed by a king or queen

State

The political entity that claims a monopoly on the use of violence within a territory; result of the victors of quarrels and wars between the city-state wielding power over larger and larger areas

Democracy

Greek, demos, "common people" and kratos, "power"; 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

Representative Democracy

A form of democracy in which voters elect representatives to meet together to discuss issues and make decisions on their behalf

Citizenship

The concept that birth (and residence or naturalization) in a country imparts basic rights

Universal Citizenship

The idea that everyone had the same basic rights by virtue of being born in a country (or by immigrating and becoming a naturalized citizen)

Dictatorship

A form of government in which an individual has seized power

Oligarchy

A form of government in which a small group of individuals holds power; the rule of the many by a few

Totalitarianism

A form of government that exerts almost total control over the people

Which two political parties dominated US politics by the time of the Civil War?

The Republicans and the Democrats

Which political party does the working class lean toward in US politics?

Democratic

Which political party do wealthy Americans lean toward?

Republican

Third Parties

To gain power, third parties must support centrist themes, but even so, they rarely do well at the polls

Which two third parties were successful?

The Bull Moose Party and United We Stand (Reform) Party

What four factors impact the voting patterns of Americans?

Social integration; alienation; voter apathy; gender and racial-gaps

How does social integration impact voting patterns?

Because those who are the most likely to vote are the older, more educated, affluent, and employed, we can conclude that the more that people feel they have at stake in the political system, the more likely they are to vote.

How does alienation impact voting patterns?

Those who gain less from the political system (in terms of education, income, and jobs) are more likely to feel alienated from politics or even hostile toward the government and abstain from voting

Voter Apathy

Indifference and inaction on the part of individuals or groups with respect to the political process

Approximately what percentage of America's eligible voters cast ballots in presidential elections?

About 50%

How do gender and race-ethnicity impact voting patterns?

Women and blacks tend to favor Democratic candidates.

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 Committee (PAC)

An organization formed by one or more special-interest groups to solicit and spend funds for the purpose of influencing legislation

Super PACs

Organizations that raise huge amounts for a single candidate that came about after the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) that the laws which limit the amount corporations can contribute to politicians violate the First Amendment

Describe the functionalist perspective on states.

The state arose 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, but there is the risk that the state can turn that force on its own citizens. When functioning well, the state is a balanced system that protects its citizens bows from one another and from government.

Anarchy

A condition of lawlessness or political disorder caused by the absence or collapse of governmental authority

Pluralism

The diffusion of power among many interest groups that prevents any single group from gaining control of the government

Checks and Balances

The separation of powers among the three branches of US government – legislative, executive, and judicial – so that each is able to nullify the actions of the other two, thus preventing a single branch from dominating the government

Why is pluraism functional for a state?

As each group pursues its own interests, it is balanced by other groups pursuing theirs, and so, to attain their goals, groups must make compromises and work together. Because these many groups have influence at the polls, politicians try to design policies that please as many groups as they can, which makes the political system responsive to the people.

Describe the conflict perspective on US government.

A power elite dominates the US and determines the economic and political conditions under which the rest of the country operates.

Power Elite

Sociologist C. Wright Mills's term for the top people in US corporations, military, and politics who make the nation's major decisions

Which group of the power elite did Mills believe was the most dominant?

The corporate leaders

Describe level one of Mills's model of power in the US.

The most powerful level, made up of the top corporate, political, and military leaders

Describe level two of Mills's model of power in the US.

Moderately powerful level, made up of Congress and other legislators, interest-group leaders, and local opinion leaders

Describe level 3 of Mills's model power in the US.

The least powerful level, made up of the unorganized, exploited, and mostly uninterested masses of people

Ruling Class

Sociologist William Domhoff's term for the power elite

War

Armed conflict between nations or politically distinct groups

Name the 3 essential conditions for war identified by sociologist Nicholas Timasheff.

Antagonistic situation; cultural tradition of war; fuel

Antagonistic Situation

Two or more states confront incompatible objectives

Cultural
Tradition of War

If a nation has fought wars in the past, the leaders of the nation see war as an option for dealing with serious distance with other nations.

Fuel

Something that heats the antagonistic situation to a boiling point, so that politicians cross the line from thinking about war to actually waging it; Timasheff identified seven such fuels and found that war is likely if a country's leaders see the antagonistic situation as an opportunity to achieve one or more of these objectives

Name the seven fuels of war identified by Nicholas Timasheff.

Power, unity, revenge, prestige, leaders, ethnicity, and beliefs

Terrorism

The use of violence or threats of violence to produce fear in order to attain political objectives

Under what circumstances is terrorism usually utilized?

When a group is weaker then its enemy and would likely lose a war

Suicide Terrorism

Taking one's own life in the process of committing a terroristic act

Describe the process of radicalization of suicide terrorists identified by sociologist Marc Sageman.

Moral outrage; ideology; shared outrage and ideology; group support for radical action

Economy

A system of producing and distributing goods and services

Describe the economy of hunter/gatherer societies.

The earliest human groups, having few possessions, did little trading with one another, and with no excess to accumulate, everybody owned as much (or as little) as everyone else.

Subsistence Economy

A type of economy in which human groups live off the land and have little or no surplus

Describe the economy of pastoral and horticultural societies.

A more dependable food supply came about with the discovery of breeding animals and plants and enabled humans to settle down in one place and divide labor, which produced a surplus of goods besides food and facilitated trade with other groups.

Describe the economy of agricultural societies.

The invention of the plow made the land more productive and enabled even more people to specialize in activities other than food production, which caused trading centers that grew into cities, to develop to accommodate the expansion of trade.

Describe the economy of industrial societies.

The steam engine (invented in 1765) enabled societies to create an astounding surplus that stimulated trade among nations and brought even greater social inequality, which led to factories that were owned by a few individuals and exploited the labor of the many.

Conspicuous Consumption

Sociologist Thorstein Veblen's term coined in 1912, for a change from the thrift, savings, and investments of the Protestant ethic to showing off wealth through spending and the display of possessions

Postindustrial Society

Identified in 1973 by sociologist Daniel Bell as a new and emerging type of society

Name the six characteristics of a postindustrial society identified by Daniel Bell.

A service sector so large that most people work in it; a vast surplus of goods; even more extensive trade among nations; a wider variety and quantity of goods available to the average person; an information explosion; an interconnected global village – the world's nations are linked by fast communications, transportation, and trade

Describe the economy of biotech societies.

Advances in biology (especially the deciphering of the human genome system) may be ushering in a new type of society in some nations that would likely be characterized by even greater surpluses and more extensive trade.

Capitalism

And economic system built around the private ownership of the means of production, the pursuit of profit, and market competition

Laissez-Faire Capitalism

Literally "hands off" capitalism, meaning that the government doesn't interfere in the market

State Capitalism

Also welfare capitalism; a form of capitalism in which private citizens own the means of production and pursue profits, but they do so within a vast system of laws designed to protect the welfare of the population and ensure that the government can collect taxes

What form of capitalism is the US currently have?

State capitalism

Market Forces

The law of supply and demand

Socialism

An economic system built around the public ownership of the means of production, central planning, and the distribution of products without a profit motive

Why doesn't socialism exist in a pure form?

Socialist countries have found it necessary to pay higher salaries for some jobs in order to entice people to take on greater responsibilities.

Democratic Socialism

Also welfare socialism; a hybrid economic system in which the individual ownership of businesses is mixed with the state ownership of industries thought essential to the public welfare, such as the postal service, natural resources, the medical delivery system, and mass transportation

Which two countries developed democratic socialism?

Sweden and Denmark

What are the main criticisms of capitalism?

Leads to social inequality and the exploitation of workers; the small number of wealthy people wield vast political power and get legislation passed that goes against the public good

What are the main criticisms of socialism?

Does not respect individual rights; central planning is grossly inefficient, and socialism is therefore not capable of producing much wealth; the greater equality really amounts to giving almost everyone an equal chance to be poor

Convergence Theory

The view that as capitalist and socialist economic systems each adopt features of the other, a hybrid (or mixed) economic system will emerge

When did Russia make the private ownership of property legal?

1980s and 1990s

What principles of capitalism did China?

Private ownership

What is the most obvious socialist practice adopted by the US?

The government collects money from some individuals to pay for benefits given to others.

What are the three primary trading blocs that have emerged with the globalization of capitalism?

North and South America, dominated by the United States; Europe, dominated by Germany; Asia, dominated by China and Japan

Free Trade

Increases competition, which, in turn, drives the search for greater productivity

How is free trade dysfunctional?

As production moves to countries were labor costs are lower, millions of US, UK, French, Spanish workers lose their jobs.

Global Superclass

Also transnational elite or transnational ruling class; the top members of the capitalist class, who, through their worldwide interconnections, make the major decisions affect the world

Name six institutions that are a result of the globalization of capitalism.

North American Free Trade Association; Association of South East Asian Nations; World Trade Organization; European Union; United Nations; World Bank