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48-476: Authority is the power to command. Authority or The Authority may also refer to: Authority In the exercise of governance , the terms authority and power are inaccurate synonyms. The term authority identifies the political legitimacy , which grants and justifies rulers' right to exercise the power of government; and the term power identifies the ability to accomplish an authorized goal, either by compliance or by obedience ; hence, authority

96-469: A representative democracy . Rousseau argues that it is the people themselves, not their representatives, who have supreme power, and that everyone taking part in legislation is a check against abuse of power. In light of the relation between population size and governmental structure, Rousseau argues that like his native Geneva , small city-states are the form of the nation in which freedom can best flourish. For states of this size, an elected aristocracy

144-621: A Free King and His Natural Subjects which advocated his right to rule on the basis of the concept of the divine right of kings , a theological concept that has a basis in multiple religions, but in this case, Christianity, tracing this right to the apostolic succession . Sovereign kings and queens in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms are considered the foundations of judicial, legislative and executive authority. The foundation of American legitimate authority rests on

192-598: A choice which is the reason of struggle between congress and the president as well as with the American courts. The latter's role is limited by the authorities' power to regulate property rights without the due process rights mandatorily applied by the courts. The Social Contract The Social Contract , originally published as On the Social Contract; or, Principles of Political Right ( French : Du contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique ),

240-429: A conquered people. Rousseau argues that legitimate authority must be compatible with individual freedom. Such authority can only be compatible with individual freedom if it is consented to, and hence there must be a social contract . However, Rousseau's conception of this social contract was different to that of thinkers before him, such as Grotius , Hobbes , and Pufendorf . For Rousseau, since one's right to freedom

288-511: A heritable factor. Authority and its attributes have been identified as of particular relevance to children as they regard their parents and teachers. The three attributes of authority have been described as status , specialist skills or knowledge , and social position . Children consider the type of command, the characteristics of the authority figure, and the social context when making authority conclusions. Although children regard these three types of authority attributes, they first assess

336-530: A long duration, not the micro social psychological study of children per se. There is nothing in Weber's published work in the Max Weber Gesamtausgabe that directly deals with children's perceptions in "formations" with traditional legitimate authority, prior to the emergence of modern capitalism . Hofstede Insights details "Power Distance" as: "Power distance is defined as the extent to which

384-421: A nation-state. An argument for political anarchy is made by Michael Huemer in his book The Problem of Political Authority . On the other side, one of the main arguments for the legitimacy of the state is some form of the social contract theory developed by Thomas Hobbes in his 1668 book, Leviathan , or by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his political writings on the social contract . In sociology , authority

432-461: A new young generation has exchanged the Sceptic Creed , What shall I believe? for passionate Faith in this Gospel according to Jean Jacques is a further step in the business; and betokens much. He advised: "In such prophesied Lubberland , of Happiness, Benevolence, and Vice cured of its deformity, trust not, my friends! . . . Is not Sentimentalism twin-sister to Cant , if not one and

480-432: A political concept. Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled. Legitimated rule results in what Weber called the monopoly over the use of coercive violence in a given territory. In the modern world, such authority is typically delegated to police and

528-505: A similar nesting of authority. His legitimacy must be acknowledged, not just by citizens, but by those who control other valued resources: his immediate staff, his cabinet, military leaders and in the long run, the administration and political apparatus of the entire society. Authority can be created expressly when public entities act publicly, using the same means to communicate the grant of authority to their agents that they use to communicate this to third parties, apparent authority describes

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576-431: A state far worse than the good one they were at in the state of nature , even though living in isolation. He concludes book one, chapter three with, "Let us then admit that force does not create right, and that we are obliged to obey only legitimate powers", which is to say, the ability to coerce is not a legitimate power―might does not make right, and the people have no duty to submit to it. A state has no right to enslave

624-660: Is a 1762 French-language book by the Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau . The book theorizes about how to establish legitimate authority in a political community , that is, one compatible with individual freedom, in the face of the problems of commercial society, which Rousseau had already identified in his Discourse on Inequality (1755). The Social Contract helped inspire political reforms or revolutions in Europe, especially in France . The Social Contract argued against

672-584: Is inalienable, the people cannot obligate themselves to obey someone other than themselves. Transferring rights to an authority involved renunciation of freedom and transformed the natural equality of men into subjection. Hence, the only legitimate social contract is one that establishes the people themselves as the rulers. Rousseau refers to the united will of the people as the general will . The general will, to be truly general, must only legislate laws with general form, i.e., laws that apply equally to all. For Rousseau, collective self-rule would increase freedom if

720-430: Is necessary because the sovereign cannot deal with particular matters like applications of the law. Doing so would undermine its generality, and therefore damage its legitimacy. Thus, the government must remain a separate institution from the sovereign body. When the government exceeds the boundaries set in place by the people, it is the mission of the people to abolish such government and begin anew. Rousseau claims that

768-510: Is perhaps the closest to a complete statement. Kant wrote, "I myself am a researcher by inclination. I feel the entire thirst for cognition and the eager restlessness to proceed further in it, as well as the satisfaction at every acquisition. There was a time when I believed this alone could constitute the honour of humankind, and I despised the rabble who knows nothing. Rousseau has set me right. This blinding prejudice vanishes, I learn to honour human beings, and I would feel by far less useful than

816-425: Is preferable, and in very large states a benevolent monarch; but even monarchical rule, to be legitimate, must be subordinate to the sovereign rule of law. Upon publication, the distribution of The Social Contract in France was prohibited, and Rousseau fled the country to avoid imprisonment. However, it was primarily Rousseau's chapter on civil religion, rather than his ideas on liberty and sovereignty, that caused

864-449: Is so certain as this, That all theories, were they never so earnest, painfully elaborated, are, and, by the very conditions of them, must be incomplete, questionable, and even false? Thou shalt know that this Universe is, what it professes to be, an infinite one. Attempt not to swallow it , for thy logical digestion; be thankful, if skilfully planting down this and the other fixed pillar in the chaos, thou prevent its swallowing thee . That

912-403: Is the legitimate or socially approved power which one person or a group possesses and practices over another. The element of legitimacy is vital to the notion of authority and is the main means by which authority is distinguished from the more general concept of power . Power can be exerted by the use of force or violence . Authority, by contrast, depends on the acceptance by subordinates of

960-551: Is the power to make decisions and the legitimacy to make such legal decisions and order their execution. Ancient understandings of authority trace back to Rome and draw later from Catholic ( Thomistic ) thought and other traditional understandings. In more modern terms, forms of authority include transitional authority (exhibited in, for example, Cambodia ), public authority in the form of popular power, and, in more administrative terms, bureaucratic or managerial techniques. In terms of bureaucratic governance, one limitation of

1008-499: The Estates General of 1789 : Divine man! It was you who taught me to know myself. When I was young you brought me to appreciate the true dignity of my nature and to reflect on the great principles which govern the social order . . . . I saw you in your last days and for me the recollection of the time will always be a source of proud joy. I contemplated your august features and saw there the imprint of those dark griefs which

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1056-840: The consent of the governed . This understanding of political authority and the exercise of political powers in the American context traces back to the writings of the Founding Fathers , including the arguments put forward in The Federalist Papers by James Madison , Alexander Hamilton and the first chief justice of the United States John Jay , and was referenced in the unanimous United States Declaration of Independence : We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal , that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and

1104-545: The 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln would reiterate this fundamental source of legitimacy. "Our government rests in public opinion," Lincoln said in 1856. In his 1854 speech at Peoria, Illinois , Lincoln espoused the proposition “that each man should do precisely as he pleases with all which is exclusively his own," a principle existing "at the foundation of the sense of justice." This sense of personal ownership and stewardship

1152-538: The appointments, the budgeting process and has the right and capacity to review regulatory rules on a case-by-case basis. Since the time of the Reagan administration the president was informed with a cost–benefit analysis of the regulation. The creation of a regulatory agency requires an Act of Congress which specifies its jurisdiction, the related authority and delegated powers. Regulatory authorities can be qualified as independent agencies or executive branch agencies,

1200-416: The basic foundation and formation of political, civil and/or ecclesiastical institutions or representatives. In recent years, however, authority in political contexts has been challenged or questioned. There have been several contributions to the debate of political authority . Among others, Hannah Arendt , Carl Joachim Friedrich , Thomas Hobbes , Alexandre Kojève and Carl Schmitt have provided some of

1248-478: The child, and will believe themselves that they have a duty to obey them and internalize their values. While the study of children in modern capitalist societies does look at the psychological aspects of children's understanding of legitimate authority at the level of symbolic interaction it is also true that is an extrapolated assumption based on one interpretation of a broad Comparative Historical Sociological (CHS) analysis of legitimate authority in many societies over

1296-494: The common labourer if I did not believe that this consideration could impart a value to all others in order to establish the rights of humanity." (Refl. 20:44) The French philosopher Voltaire used his publications to criticise and mock Rousseau, but also to defend free expression . In his Idées républicaines (1765), he reacted to the news that The Social Contract had been burned in Geneva , saying "The operation of burning it

1344-527: The controversy. In America, Noah Webster borrowed heavily from The Social Contract to write Sketches of American Policy (1785), one of the earliest widely-published arguments for a strong central government in America. Immanuel Kant, one of the most influential moral philosophers in Western philosophy , acknowledged his debt to Rousseau's work in political philosophy , of which The Social Contract

1392-569: The court system. Weber divided legitimate authority into three types: A constitution may define the extent of the power of rational-legal authority. Modern societies depend on legal-rational authority. Government officials are the best example of this form of authority, which is prevalent all over the world. History has witnessed several social movements or revolutions against a system of traditional or legal-rational authority started by charismatic authorities. According to Weber, what distinguishes authority from coercion , force and power on

1440-532: The exercise of governmental authority. In the United States , for instance, there is a prevailing belief that the political system as instituted by the Founding Fathers should accord the populace as much freedom as reasonable; that government should limit its authority accordingly, known as limited government . Political anarchism is a philosophy which rejects the legitimacy of political authority and adherence to any form of sovereign rule or autonomy of

1488-401: The formation of the city-state of Geneva , and experimental treatises involving the topic of authority in relation to education include Emile, or On Education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau . As David Laitin defines, authority is a key concept to be defined in determining the range and role of political theory, science and inquiry. The relevance of a grounded understanding of authority includes

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1536-411: The governmental agents of the executive branch, as outlined by George A. Krause, is that they are not as close to the popular will as elected representatives are. The claims of authority can extend to national or individual sovereignty , which is broadly or provisionally understood as a claim to political authority that is legitimated . Historical applications of authority in political terms include

1584-407: The idea that monarchs were divinely empowered to legislate. Rousseau asserts that only the general will of the people has the right to legislate, for only under the general will can the people be said to obey only themselves and hence be free. Although Rousseau's notion of the general will is subject to much interpretive controversy, it seems to involve a legislature consisting of all adult members of

1632-491: The injustice of man inflicted on you. Thomas Carlyle assessed its impact: and now has not Jean Jacques promulgated his new Evangel of a Contrat Social; explaining the whole mystery of Government, and how it is contracted and bargained for,—to universal satisfaction? Theories of Government! Such have been, and will be; in ages of decadence. Acknowledge them in their degree; as processes of Nature, who does nothing in vain; as steps in her great process. Meanwhile, what theory

1680-451: The legitimacy of the authority figure in question using the nature of the commands they give. For example, a teacher that does not appear to have legitimate power from the child's perspective (perhaps because she or he cannot control the class well) will not be obeyed. Regarding parenting, authoritative parents who are warm and high in behavioral control but low in psychological control are more likely to be seen as having legitimate authority by

1728-623: The less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally", which can be interpreted as respect for authority. Generally, ex-communist countries, poor countries, and non-Protestant countries have the highest power distance (respect for inequality in the distribution of power). According to Hofstede Insights 2021 country comparison, all countries with power distance below 50 are Western Protestant democracies, except for Austria. Such studies are attempts to apply ideas found in Weber that he himself did not postulate directly and they assume

1776-421: The most influential texts. In European political philosophy , the jurisdiction of political authority, the location of sovereignty , the balancing of notions of freedom and authority, and the requirements of political obligations have been core questions from the time of Plato and Aristotle to the present. Most democratic societies are engaged in an ongoing discussion regarding the legitimate extent of

1824-464: The nation-state as a basic unit of "countries" rather than look at all of the various political economic "formations" in which Weber himself was most directly interested. The political authority in the British context can be traced to James VI and I of Scotland who wrote two political treatises called Basilikon Doron and The True Law of Free Monarchies: Or, The Reciprocal and Mutual Duty Between

1872-405: The one hand, and leadership , persuasion and influence on the other hand, is legitimacy. Superiors, he states, feel that they have a right to issue commands; subordinates perceive an obligation to obey (see also Milgram experiment ). Social scientists agree that authority is but one of several resources available to incumbents in formal positions. For example, a Head of State is dependent upon

1920-404: The people since it has to devote less power to itself, while a democracy the least. In general, the larger the bureaucracy , the more power required for government discipline. Normally, this relationship requires the state to be an aristocracy or monarchy . When Rousseau uses the word democracy, he refers to an executive composed of all or most of the people (Bk. 3, Ch. 3, Para. 2) rather than to

1968-500: The people to whom laws applied were also the ones prescribing them. Rousseau, who objected to extreme wealth inequality, also argued that equality is essential for the attainment of liberty, and concluded that legislation ought to preserve equality. Rousseau argues that the sovereign power must be separate from the government, which in Rousseau's terminology refers to the executive power . The division of sovereign from government

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2016-412: The political community who are restricted to legislating general laws for the common good. The epigraph of the work is "foederis aequas / dicamus leges" ("Let us set equal terms for the truce") ( Virgil , Aeneid XI.321–22). The stated aim of The Social Contract is to determine whether there can be a legitimate political authority, since people's interactions he saw at his time seemed to put them in

2064-601: The pursuit of Happiness .--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed , --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Later, speeches by

2112-809: The right of those above them to give them orders or directives . The definition of authority in contemporary social science remains a matter of debate. Max Weber in his essay " Politics as a Vocation " (1919) divided legitimate authority into three types . Others, like Howard Bloom , suggest a parallel between authority and respect/reverence for ancestors . Max Weber , in his sociological and philosophical work, identified and distinguished three types of legitimate domination ( Herrschaft in German, which generally means 'domination' or 'rule'), that have sometimes been rendered in English translation as types of authority, because English-speakers do not see domination as

2160-496: The situation when a principal has placed restrictions on an agent that are not known to a third party, and restrictions on government agents are accomplished in the open, through laws and regulations. In this setting, all parties concerned is assumed or supposed to know the laws and regulations of government. Recently the concept of authority has also been discussed as a guiding principle in human-machine interaction design. Genetic research indicates that obedience to authority may be

2208-406: The size of the territory to be governed often decides the nature of the government. Since a government is only as strong as the people, and this strength is absolute, the larger the territory, the more strength the government must be able to exert over the populace (cf. also Turner's frontier thesis for the case of America). In his view, a monarchical government is able to wield the most power over

2256-400: Was integral to the practice of self-government as Lincoln saw it by a Republican nation and its people. This was because, as Lincoln also declared, "No man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent." The U.S. president is called to give account to the legislature for the conduct of the whole government, including that of regulatory agencies. The president influences

2304-806: Was perhaps as odious as that of writing it. […] To burn a book of argument is to say: 'We do not have enough wit to reply to it.'" The work was also banned in Paris and was forbidden by the Church being listed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum . The work received a refutation called The Confusion of the Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau by the Jesuit Alfonso Muzzarelli in Italy in 1794. The influence of Rousseau on Maximilien Robespierre from his diary during

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