Power

Power: The ability of individuals or groups to make their own interests or concerns count,
even when others resist (Weber).
Domination: imposition of power
Authority: legitimate use of power; usually not necessary to back it up by coercive force.
May involve persuasion and authority of experts.
Concede as opposed to imposed
In authority- hold authority by virtue of their institutional position.
An authority- specialized knowledge claim
Legitimacy:having the consent of those subject to authority; legitimate power is
recognized as valid and justified.
Power is relational,Power could be institutionalized, has a structure, and backed up by
belief system, making its use legitimate.
Bureaucratic domination vs Patriarchy domination
BD- based on official commitment to sense of impersonal duty
PD- relies on personal authority of master and is rooted in tradition passed down from
one generation to the next
3 bases of authority (Weber)
Traditional: beliefs and practices passed down from generation to generation; sometimes
seen as sacred.
Charismatic: belief that leaders have exceptional qualities deserving respect and
devotion.
Legal-rational: explicit laws that define legitimate uses of power. Not arbitrary or
dependent on whims and fancies of those in power.
Variable (Parsons)
Power can expand/contract like credit creation.
Power used for collective benefits.
Pluralist Theory
Power was widely dispersed, neither leaders or social elites monopolized decision making
Eg: New Haven,1950s. Government listened closely to all major groups
None of the powers centers can consistently dominate
It is about compromise and accommodation
Zero-sum or Constant (Marx, Weber)
like a pie.
Asymmetrical.
Perfect authority is impossible to maintain. Those further down the chain of command
will inevitably exercise their delegated powers with discretion simply because there is no
other way.
State is neutral and different interest groups or political parties will compete for their
own rights/interest to be heard
Elite Theory(Mill)

Elite occupy the command posts and make decisions for all members of society without
regard for public opinion. Elites are always in control and elections are just sideshows
Power Resource Theory
Focus on distribution of power and how it affects political parties
Liberal wings - promote extensive government involvement,favor strong social net and
welfare benefits(usually lower income vote for liberal wings)
Conservative - support traditional moral values(usually high incomers)
Tendency for people in different class to vote for different parties--> power is determined
Despite the concentration of power in society, substantial shifts in distribution of power
occur
State centered theory
State itself can stucture political life, no matter how power is distributed at a given
moment.
Theories of Power: Marxist
-Power is as such that either you have it or you do not have it, there is no half-way
house and those that hold power use it to further their objectives, despite possible
resistance
-Power is hierarchical,top down affair, distribution of power is clear for all to see, some
give commands, while others obey.
-Obedience is not something automatically given, it has to be secured by those in
authority .Only where authority is seen legitimize is the compliance of others
forthcoming
-Power is attributed to individuals or institutes who in turn exercise it in an intentional
rule-bound manner to dominate others.
-Eg: Monsantos actions suggest the influence of a kind of rational, bureaucratic
management,where discipline and control structures the everyday level of organization.
Monsanto exhibits key elements of bureaucratic power : namely a visible, hierarchical
decision making process based upon impersonal rules and specialist knowledge
-Bureaucratic power is a form of institutional , rule-bound power based upon a clearly
defined hierarchy of office
-Hallmark of modern bureaucratic authority: divorced from personal ties and influence,
the position of administrator is one of duty
-Organizational strength of bureaucratic forms of administration lay with its clearly
established hierarchical structures of supervision specific task to perform which can only
be execute on basis of orders received from above.
-Officials exercise power in a downwards fashion, but may only do within strict limits of
rules.
Critiques:
-Mix of public,private and voluntary agencies tells us that states ordering of lives has
never been straightforward top-down affair of domination
- pluralist theories proved otherwise- new haven case
Foucault indirect, non-obvious power(Internalization of
norms,surveillance,governing the self)
-Power is never in any one persons hand. Power does not show itself in any obvious,
willed manner,but rather as something which works its way into our imaginations and
serves to constrain how we act.(ie, orchestrated through series of indirect techniques of

control and constraint)

-Eg: Workplace/government body: power of the institute does not pass from the top down
, but circulates through their organizational practices
-Compliance is not a straightforward matter, and turns on how far individuals internalize
what is being laid down as obvious or self-evident. Institutional power works best
when a;; parties accept it willingly or are persuaded to collude in their own subjugation
-Power is dispersed or otherwise
-Foucault believes we take it upon ourselves to regulate our own conduct, even if we are
free to act in all kinds of ways, we choose to constrain our behavior. Hence social order
can then be attained
-Power works as an anonymous force, provoking free agents to act in ways that make it
difficult for them to do otherwise
-Hence Foucault reason that we are likely to be dominated by ideas and images
associated with normal family life. We are trapped in our thinking about nature of proper
families even though we may have cast aside the shackles of patriarchal authority and
traditions of male order
-Ideas are rooted in institutional ways of doing things,techniques and practices we more
or less call forth appropriate behavior.
-Institutional power should be understood as something which works on through agents
who in turn exercise self discipline and restraint
-Effectiveness of campaigns(Monsanto) is likely to be judged by how far people
internalize something as acceptable.