Power

Question 1

Power

Answer 1

The ability of a person/people to make others do something they want them to, even when those others may not themselves want to do it.

Question 2

Parsons and Mills (56)

Answer 2

Disagree about the definition of power - the first uses power in the positive sense of getting things done, whilst the latter uses a term in the more negative sense of power being exercised over others.

Question 3

Allen (00)

Answer 3

Points out power relationships can be based on the use of force or subtle manipulation.

Question 4

Lukes (74)

Answer 4

Power has ‘three faces’. The first sees political power in terms of the decision making process, like Weber’s idea of political power. The second sees power in terms of what is removed from the decision making process. The third sees power in terms of the ability of some to shape the thoughts and desires of others.

Question 5

Functionalist

Answer 5

Parsons (51) - power is not limited but can increase as society develops. when the right to vote is granted to more people, there is more power in society as a whole.

Question 6

Neo-Liberalist

Answer 6

Argue that the state should empower its citizens by freeing them from state imposition, leaving them to shape their own lives.

Question 7

Saunders (02)

Answer 7

Neo-Liberalist - Sees people’s self-interested interaction in the market as enough to hold society together. The state is seen to have an essential but limited role to play.

Question 8

Neo-Liberalist criticism

Answer 8

Blind faith in free market economics by promoting a policy on non-interference in business matters this approach undermines democracy and equality.

Question 9

Functionalist criticism

Answer 9

Naive acceptance of arguments put forward by those in society who possess power. All functionalism does is convert the ideas of the powerful into sociological theory.

Question 10

Pluralist

Answer 10

Similarly to functionalists they see power as widespread in society - although the former are more aware of conflicting interests in society. See a range of interests in society competing for limited resources, with the state acting as a referee.

Question 11

Dahl (61)

Answer 11

Pluralist - Studied local politics in New Haven. He found that a range of interests were consulted and compromises made in reaching final decisions and concluded that no single group dominated local politics.

Question 12

Dahl Criticism

Answer 12

Critics would argue that he only investigated the first face of power. He has since acknowledged that the unequal distribution of wealth inevitably makes equal influence possible.

Question 13

Elite Theory

Answer 13

Pareto (35) and Mosca (39) - believed that people with power possess superior personal qualities that make them best suited for the role. Pareto argued the ruling elites changed over time. Mosca claimed that ruling elites maintain stability and social order would collapse without them

Question 14

Elite Theory Criticism

Answer 14

Lack of empirical evidence and undemocratic nature.

Question 15

Radical Elite Theory

Answer 15

Mills (56) - in the post-war USA three elite groups were so interconnected as to form a single ruling group. Mill’s radical elite theory seems to combine elements of Weberian theory with those of Pareto and Mosca.

Question 16

Marxist

Answer 16

Suggests that a single ruling class exercises power and those who control the means of production rule society.

Question 17

Marx and Engels (68)

Answer 17

Marxist - Wrote that government rules on behalf of capitalism, saying ‘the executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie’.

Question 18

Milliband (69)

Answer 18

Marxist - Says that the state in the UK is made up of the government, the judiciary, police, military, and the top personnel in all of these institutions have similar backgrounds.

Question 19

Poulantzas (80)

Answer 19

Structural Marxist - Argues that the state exits in its own right as a mechanism to support capitalism regardless of the individuals who run it.

Question 20

Neo-Marxist

Answer 20

Gramsci (71) says that for the ruling class to maintain its hold on society it must secure the consent of the masses by instilling in them its own ideas. The power of the ruling lass is based on its ability to use the state to instil a sort of false consciousness in the masses, done by persuasion.

Question 21

Neo-Marxist criticism

Answer 21

Classical Marxist theory is criticized for its emphasis on economic determinism, although Neo-Marxism has gone some to correct that by stressing ideas and hegemony.

Question 22

Postmodern

Answer 22

Have their own version of something rather like cultural hegemony in the concept of discourses. A discourse is a taken for granted way of doing something, such as decision-making, which affects the exercise of power in any society. Through discourses, knowledge is power because some knowledge has superior status.

Question 23

Foucault

Answer 23

Postmodern - Sees a direct relationship between power and knowledge. The modern state has more knowledge than ever at its disposal and so in his view is more powerful than ever. However, knowledge is not the monopoly of the state and exists throughout society.

Question 24

Allen (00)

Answer 24

Postmodern - power is an anonymous force provoking people to act in ways that make it difficult for them to do otherwise.

Question 25

Postmodern criticisms

Answer 25

Postmodern views are complicated and not easy to understand. In some ways they resemble Neo-Marxist views. Where postmodernists differ is in their rejection of the idea that any knowledge is ultimately ‘true’.