Lecture 11 (Society & the State) Flashcards
Virtue, Strategy, and ‘Stato’ - Machiavelli (Pre-Enlightenment: Political Philosophy)
Machiavelli viewed the ruler as someone who has the VIRTUE, STRATEGY, AND CUNNING to maintain power
Machiavelli introduced the concept of “Stato,” meaning “status” or “prestige”
The ruler achieves control by understanding POWER DYNAMICS AND ORGANIZING HIERARCHY to ensure others DEFER to him
Ex: a modern CEO must use STRATEGY, VIRTUE, and STATUS to navigate workplace politics, gain respect, and maintain authority over their team
Leviathan and Order - Hobbes (Pre-Enlightenment: Political Philosophy)
Hobbes argued that in the STATE OF NATURE (WITHOUT AUTHORITY), humans would constantly FIGHT (WAR OF ALL AGAINST ALL)
so to escape chaos, humans would give up SOME FREEDOM to the LEVIATHAN (SOVEREIGN RULER) in exchange for ORDER + PROTECTION
ex:
- in times of crisis, COVID-19 for example, people would adhere to strict government controls for safety (during COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS) > citizens follow rules for SAFETY and COLLECTIVE GOOD (police force = leviathan)
Life, Liberty, and Property - Locke (Enlightenment & the Social Contract)
Inalienable rights (life, liberty, property)
people have NATURAL RIGHTS (life, liberty, property) that the government must PROTECT and cant VIOLATE THEM
ex:
in modern democracies, laws protect PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS > owning land / businesses
Separation of Powers - Montesquieu (Enlightenment & the Social Contract)
To prevent the ABUSE OF POWER, there MUST BE a SEPARATION OF POWERS - legislative, executive, and judiciary branches among gov (so no one branch becomes TOO POWERFUL)
General Will & Equality - Rousseau (Enlightenment & the Social Contract)
- people are NATURALLY GOOD
- the government SHOULD REFLECT THE GENERAL WILL OF THE PEOPLE (collective interest) through LAWS AGREED BY THE MAJORITY
ex:
- direct democracy in Switzerland
Types of Authority - Weber (Authority & the State)
3 types of authority:
1. traditional authority: based on customs and traditions (monarchs)
2. charismatic authority: based on leader’s personal qualities (Martin Luther Jr.)
3. rational-legal authority: based on LAW, RULES, and BUREAUCRACY (modern governments)
Rational Bureaucracy - Weber (Authority & the State)
Rational bureaucracy ensures efficiency through:
1. SPECIALIZATION of roles and tasks
2. FORMAL RULES and PROCEDURES
3. LOYALTY to the institutions
ex:
companies like GOOGLE operates EFFICIENTLY because of role SPECIALIZATION and MERIT-BASED RECRUITMENT
Street-Level Bureaucracy - Lipsky
- public service workers (police officers, teachers, social workers) are the FACE OF BUREAUCRACY
- they BALANCE FORMAL RULES WITH IMPROVISATION to meet the needs of individuals while managing large groups
ex:
- a social worker may BEND BUREAUCRATIC RULES to help a family get URGENT SUPPORT
Fictitious Commodification - Karl Polanyi
- fictitious commodification: situation when markets turn things like LAND, LABOR, MONEY into ITEMS that are being bought and sold in the market
ex:
- labor: labor is often time treated as a product, where companies buy “labor hours” but workers don’t like to be treated unfairly, therefore they form unions to do strikes and protect themselves
- land: land is treated like a product to gain PROFITS, so environmentalists protests to protect FORESTS, WATER, AND THE PLANET
Double Movement - Karl Polanyi
Double movement: TWO OPPOSING FORCES IN SOCIETY
1. MARKET EXPANSION: CAPITALISM grow and try to treat everything as a commodity and put it in the market > as it expands, it creates PROBLEMS like INEQUALITY, EXPLOITATION OF WORKERS, ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION
- SOCIAL PROTECTION: PEOPLE PUSH BACK AGAINST THE MARKET to protect society and nature from EXPLOITATION > responds with MOVEMENTS AND LAWS to give a limit on what cant be commodified
War-Making and State Formation - Charles Tilly
- states created through WARS
- leaders they fought enemies using VIOLENCE and RAISED TAXES to pay for WARS
- over time, this process helped leaders CENTRALIZED POWER and FORM STRONG STATES
ex:
- medieval Europe: the king TAXED CITIZENS to FUND WARS, like battles for LAND/POWERS > formed a strong state and organized gov
- modern state: TAXES FUND NATIONAL DEFENSE, like the US military to PROTECT THE COUNTRY
Civil Society and Hegemony - Gramsci
The state controls people in 2 ways:
1. coercion: using force (like police/laws)
2. hegemony: how dominant groups maintain control by spreading ideas (like schools, media, etc) to make people agree with their power. This makes their authority seems NATURAL and easily accepted
Surveillance and Power - Foucault
Power isnt just always about FORCE, its also about SURVEILLANCE (how people watch themselves) and FOLLOW SOCIETAL RULES
- through SURVEILLANCE and NORMALIZATION > people learn to behave in ways SOCIETY expects - without needing direct punishments
- surveillance: CCTV forced people to be cautious to avoid punishments
- normalization: often times, people learn and INTERNALIZE SOCIAL NORMS (RULES), they follow them AUTOMATICALLY, without needing anyone to enforce them
The Civilizing Process - Norbert Elias
how societies slowly teach people to control their emotions and follow social rules
this makes people to act in ways that help create ORDER and STABILITY > help justify the STATE’S POWER (collecting taxes or enforcing laws)
Colonial Violence (long-term instability) - Fanon (Post-Colonialism)
Colonization was not just about taking land, it USED VIOLENCE to CONTROL PEOPLE AND SOCIETIES
this broke apart communities and created DIVISIONS > leaving POST-COLONIAL STATE WEAK AND FRAGMENTED
LONG-TERM INSTABILITY
ex:
in Africa, colonizers drew borders without considering the unity aspect of a community > colonial boundaries forced different groups to LIVE TOGETHER without UNITY
