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Social Institutions: Exercise 5 - Power, authority and political views
Instructions:
Read the passage and click on the correct answer. If wrong, try
again. Scroll down if you do not see the Answer box. Click
here to review the key terms for this exercise.
Societies are built on some form of
power. The sociologist Max Weber defines power as the ability
to achieve goals even if other people oppose these goals. Power belongs
mainly to the government, which is in charge of directing the political
life of society. There are a few governments in the world that exercise
their power through the use of force (against the will of the people).
However, societies try to put in place power that is legitimate (legal
and accepted). Such legitimate power is called authority.
Max Weber identified three different
forms of authority. One of these, traditional authority,
is found in pre-industrial societies. In traditional authority, power
is made legal and accepted through respect for old cultural beliefs
and practices. For example, several centuries ago, the kings and queens
of England had great power and were seen by their people as rulers
with godlike qualities (similar to a god). Another form of authority,
known as rational-legal authority, is power based on rules
and regulations. Rational-legal authority is the power that belongs
to a lawful government, such as the democratic government of the U.S.
The third form of authority is called charismatic authority.
In charismatic authority, such as the authority of Mahatma Gandhi
of India in the first half of the 1900s, the unusual personal qualities
and abilities of the leader create obedience among the people and
make the power legitimate.
Based on the way power is exercised
or applied, political systems in the world can be classified under
four categories:
Monarchy: a political system where a single family
rules from generation to generation
Democracy: a political system where power belongs to
the people and they exercise it through their elected government
Authoritarianism: a political system where people
have no participation in government
Totalitarianism: a political system that has unlimited
power over the people; a government that controls people's lives
Instructions:
Read the passage and click on the correct answer. If wrong, try
again. Scroll down if you do not see the Answer box. 
