Government, Power, Authority Flashcards
power
ability to exercise one’s will over others
types of power
- Force: actual or threatened use of coercion to impose ones will on others (Ex. Tianmen square protest)
- Influence: exercise of power through a process of persuasion
authority
Power that has been institutionalized and is recognized by people in society
types of authority
- Traditional: power is conferred by custom and accepted practice (Ex. Royal family)
- Charismatic: power is made legitimate by leader’s exceptional personal or emotional appeal to his or her follows (Ex. Jesus and other religious leaders)
- Legal-rational: power is made legitimate by law (Ex. Mayor of Vancouver)
the distribution of power and authority affects…
- Who gets what, when, and how (ie. Through taxes)
- Execution of social control (ie. Through laws)
- Defense against others (ie. Through military)
government
- power that’s been insitutionalized into authority
- most common source of authority
5 types of government
- Monarchy: form of government headed by a signle member of a royal family (ie. Ancient China)
- Oligarchy: form of government in which a few individuals rule (ie. Modern day China)
- Dictatorship/totalitarianism: one person has nearly total power to make and enforce laws – state has complete control and surveillance over all aspects of a society’s social and political life (ie. Germany in the 1940’s)
- Democracy: form of government in which certain individuals are selected to speak for the people (ie. Canada)
- Anarchy: absence of organized government, no leaders or rulers
pluralist model of government
- Political leaders (ie. Elected by the people) - state
- Leadership groups (ie. Business organizations, churches) - church/market
- Ordinary people (ie. Voting and interest groups) - people
- ideally we should have input from the following groups, and each group should have separate interests. However, this is often not true since political leaders and leadership groups often work together, leaving out ordinary people. We recognize that power is not equally distributed, but policy reflects a balance of input
in a democracy, people are allowed to…
- Vote
- Join political and apolitical organizations
- Communicate with government
- Run for office
- Protest
- these are good measures of political participation
political participation in Canada
decreasing number of Canadians identify with a political party and only a small minority actually participate in a political organization
who is likely to politically participate?
- Generally, people who have the following attributes are most likely to vote, volunteer, and donate money:
- Time (retired vs. Working)
- Money (full time vs. Student)
- Civic skills (experience and know-hows)
- However, educated people are the most likely to vote -> Education leads to the above 3 skills, particularly money and skill
transition of society
Hunter and gathering society -> horticultural society -> agrarian society -> industrial society
how did the industrial revolution change society?
- Changes in social organization of the work
- Economic systems of industrial society -> capitalism, socialism, communism
3 forms of economic system
- capitalism
- socialism
- communism
capitalism
- An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately controlled
- The main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits
- Competition is encouraged
- State intervention should be minimal (laissez-faire)
- Modern forms of capitalism are not completely hands-off – some regulations exist
- Some countries restrict monopolies
- Reasons for governmental control: Ensure competition (ie. Gas prices); Ensure safety for workers (ie. Workplace)
- Ex. Chinese milk scandal – local governments knew about contaminated milk products, but where bribed into not saying anything
