Authority
The exercise of authority is a constant and pervasive phenomenon in the human society.hu man society maintains itself because of 'order'-and it is the authority that serves as the found of social order. It is wrong to assume that "authority" is exclusive political development. Inter styles of organisations, political as well as non-political, authority appears. Every association society whether or not it's temporary or permanent, small or big, has its own structure of authority.
Definitions:
1"The authority is that this national power that orders or orders the activities of various actors through Associate in Nursing order that finally ends up among the orders being thought-about as effective because the order" -By E.A. Shils in Dictionary of Sociology.2. Georgia home boy Weber used the term authority to talk over with legitimate power.
3. In simple words, it can be said that authority refers to power which is regarded as legitimate in the minds of followers. Weber's notion of authority doesn't imply that power is legitimate which illegitimate power plays no role in society.
"Weber solely argued that legitimacy could be a general condition for the foremost effective and enduring manifestations of power. Still this legitimacy may take different forms and different justifications." -Demerath and Marwell
As lan Robertson has stated, "Power based on authority is usually unquestionably accepted by those to whom it is applied, for obedience to it has become a social norm. Power supported coercion, on the other hand, tends to be unstable, because people obey only out of fear and will disobey at the first opportunity. For this reason every political system must be regarded as legitimate by its participants if it is to survive." Most people must consider it desirable, workable, and better than alternatives. If the bulk of the voters in any society now not take into account their form of government legitimate, it is doomed, because power that rests only on coercion will fail in the long run. The French, Russian and the American Revolutions, for example, have proved it. The authority of the several monarchies was questioned, and their power which was based mainly on coercion rather than on loyalty inevitably crumbled. In these cases, the exercise of coercive control was in conflict with the exercise of legitimate authority.
"The legitimacy of authority is ultimately a matter of belief regarding the justice of institutional system through that authority is exercised". It depends on the rightfulness of the exerciser's incumbency in the authoritative role with the institutional system". It to boot depends on "the justice of the command itself or of the mode of its promulgation'. Weber describes 3 'ideal types’ of legitimation that correspond to a few sorts of authority.
Types of Authority
Max Weber distinguished 3 basic varieties of legitimate authority: that additionally correspond to 3 varieties of dominance or leadership. Weber spoke of ancient authority, legal-rational authority, and magnetic authority. Each kind of authority is legitimate as a result of it rests on the implicit or express consent of the ruled. One who can successfully claim any of these types of authority is regarded as having the right to compel obedience at least for some time.1. Traditional Authority
Of all the legalities of authority, the application of tradition is arguably the most common. People adapt ancient authority as a result of it's continuously been that way". The right of the king to rule is not open to question. People obey a ruler because they know that doing so in past generations has given their society order and continuity. Thus it is not tradition alone here that is at issue, rather the stability of the social order that is being accepted for its own sake.In a political system based on traditional authority' power is legitimated by ancient custom. The authority of the ruler is generally founded on unwritten laws and it has almost a sacred quality. Tribal leaders and monarchs have continuously relied on ancient authority. From the historical purpose of read it's been the foremost common supply of legitimation of power.
Traditional authority tends to be additional common in organisations that stress upon continuity with the past and therefore the upholding of wide shared values and beliefs. Example: Established churches, the higher reaches of government, and the courts and familial organisations based on kinship ties. In each one of these settings, it is inconvenient for us to question the authority relationships involved. We tend to follow the tradition for it has always been followed, and doing any other create more problems than it would solve.
2. Rational-legal Authority
In this reasonably authority power is legitimated by express rules and procedures that define the rights and obligations of the rulers. Such rules and procedures are commonly found in a constitution, and set of laws. Legal-rational authority stresses a "government of laws, not of peoples". Officials here can exercise power only within legally defined limits that have been formally set in advance. This kind of authority is usually found in most of the political systems of contemporary societies.In this kind of authority power is respected and complied with not because the followers are fools nor because the exercise is endowed with extraordinary qualities as it is the charismatic case. Here, the legitimacy of authority springs from the respect for the lawfulness of power. Weber delineated such authority with relevance its most typical organisational context, namely, bureaucracy, Weber writes- "Legal authority rests on enactment, its pure type of best represented by bureaucracy. The basic idea is that laws can be enacted and changed at pleasure by formally correct procedure. The governing body is either elected or appointed and constitutes as a whole and in all of its sections rational organisations.
3. Charismatic Authority
"In a system that supports magnetic authority, power is legitimized by unusual, extraordinary or supernatural qualities that make people responsible for certain political, religious or military leaders." Weber called this extraordinary quality 'Charisma'. Robert Bierstedt calls this sort of authority, not authority at all, but leadership. Human history provides classical samples of such leaders thereupon quality of 'Charisma'. Example: Israelite, M.K Gandhi, Hitler, Napoleon, Mao, Castro, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Churchill and so on. "The Charismatic leader is seen as a person of destiny who is inspired by unusual vision, by lofty principles or even by God. The personal appeal of those leaders is itself spare to create their authority appear legitimate to their followers".- Ian Robertson.In stressing the importance and quality of tradition, Weber never said that tradition is inviolable. He only said that tradition is the rule rather than an exception. There are exceptions also. Weber used the term, "Charismatic Authority" to see such exceptions (borrowing the term from the christian theology). Weber writes: "Charismatic authority rests on affectual and personal devotion of the follower to the lord and his gifts of grace (Charisma). They comprise especially magical abilities, revelations of heroism, power of the mind and the speech....... The purest types are the rule of the prophet, the warrior hero, the great demagogue...."
The important thing about charismatic authority is that the leader is not magical, but he is believed to be so. Through various devices and tactics the leader creates an army of true believers to get the perpetual support of the people. Yet Charismatic authority is inherently unstable. It has no rules or traditions to guide conduct. Since it is based on the unique qualities of a particular individual, it is undermined if the leader fails or dies. Subsequent leaders may lack the reason and qualities. Hence systems supported magnetic authority area unit sometimes ephemeral.
"Each of those varieties of authority represents associate degree "ideal type". In other words, each is an abstraction that is only approximated to a greater and lesser extent by any actual political system. In observe, political systems and political leaders could derive their authority from over one source".- Ian Robertson.
Follow Me