Government and Politics - Государство и право - Скачать бесплатно
CONTENT
Introduction 3
POWER 3
How is political power distributed among members of society? 3
TYPES OF AUTHORITY 4
Traditional Authority 4
Legal-Rational Authority 4
Charismatic Authority 5
TYPES OF GOVERNMENT 5
Monarchy 6
Oligarchy 6
Dictatorship and Totalitarianism 6
Democracy 7
POLITICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE UNITED STATES 8
Political Socialization 8
Participation and Apathy 9
Women and Politics 10
Interest Groups 11
MODELS OF POWER STRUCTURE IN THE UNITED STATES 12
Elite Model 12
Pluralist Model 14
Who Does Rule? 15
SUMMARY 15
KEY TERMS 16
References: 17
Introduction
Political system is one of the subsystem of society, and play
sufficient role in our life.
The term political system refers to a recognized set of procedures for
implementing and obtaining the goals of a group.
Each society must have a political system in order to maintain
recognized procedures for allocating valued resources. In political
scientist Harold Lasswell’s (1936) terms, politics is who gets what, when,
and how. Thus, like religion and the family, a political system is a
cultural universal; it is a social institution found in every society.
We will focus on government and politics within the United States as
well as other industrialized nations and preindustrial societies. In their
study of politics and political systems, sociologists are concerned with
social interactions among individuals and groups and their impact on the
larger political order. For example, in studying the controversy over the
nomination of Judge Robert Bork, sociologists might wish to focus on how a
change in the group structure of American society—the increasing importance
of the black vote for southern Democratic candidates—affected the decision
making of Howell Heflin and other senators (and, ultimately, the outcome of
the Bork confirmation battle). From a sociological perspective, therefore,
a fundamental question is: how do a nation’s social conditions affect its
day-to-day political and governmental life?
POWER
Power is at the heart of a political system. Power may be defined as
the ability to exercise one’s will over others. To put it another way, if
one party in a relationship can control the behavior of the other, that
individual or group is exercising power. Power relations can involve large
organizations, small groups, or even people in an intimate association.
Blood and Wolfe (1960) devised the concept of marital power to describe the
manner in which decision making is distributed within families.
There are three basic sources of power within any political
system—force, influence, and authority. Force is the actual or threatened
use of coercion to impose one’s will on others. When leaders imprison or
even execute political dissidents, they are applying force; so, too, are
terrorists when they seize an embassy or assassinate a political leader.
Influence, on the other hand, refers to the exercise of power through a
process of persuasion. A citizen may change his or her position regarding a
Supreme Court nominee because of a newspaper editorial, the expert
testimony of a law school dean before the Senate Judiciary Committee, or a
stirring speech at a rally by a political activist. In each case,
sociologists would view such efforts to persuade people as examples of
influence. Authority, the third source of power, will be discussed later.
Max Weber made an important distinction between legitimate and
illegitimate power. In a political sense, the term legitimacy refers to the
"belief of a citizenry that a government has the right to rule and that a
citizen ought to obey the rules and laws of that government". Of course,
the meaning of the term can be extended beyond the sphere of government.
Americans typically accept the power of their parents, teachers, and
religious leaders as legitimate. By contrast, if the right of a leader to
rule is not accepted by most citizens (as is often the case when a dictator
overthrows a popularly elected government), the regime will be considered
illegitimate. When those in power lack legitimacy, they usually resort to
coercive methods in order to maintain control over social institutions.
How is political power distributed among members of society?
Political power is not divided evenly among all members of society.
How extreme is this inequality? Three theoretical perspectives answer this
question in three different ways. First, Marxist theories suggest that
power is concentrated in the hands of the few who own the means of
production. Powerful capitalists manipulate social and cultural
arrangements to increase further their wealth and power, often at the
expense of the powerless.
Second, power elite theories agree that power is concentrated in the
hands of a few people; the elite includes military leaders, government
officials, and business executives. This group consists of those who occupy
the top positions in our organizational hierarchies; they have similar
backgrounds and share the same interests and goals. According to this view,
any organization (even a nation-state) has a built-in tendency to become an
oligarchy (rule by the few).
Third, pluralist theories suggest that various groups and interests
compete for political power. In contrast to Marxist and power elite
theorists, pluralists see power as dispersed among many people and groups
who do not necessarily agree on what should be done. Lobbyists for
environmental groups, for example, will battle with lobbyists for the coal
industry over antipollution legislation. In this way the will of the people
is translated into political action. Thurow, however, suggests that too
many divergent views have made it nearly impossible to arrive at a public
policy that is both effective in solving social problems and satisfactory
to different interest groups.
TYPES OF AUTHORITY
The term authority refers to power that has been institutionalized and
is recognized by the people over whom it is exercised. Sociologists
commonly use the term in connection with those who hold legitimate power
through elected or publicly acknowledged positions. It is important to
stress that a person’s authority is limited by the constraints of a
particular social position. Thus, a referee has the authority to decide
whether a penalty should be called during a football game but has no
authority over the price of tickets to the game.
Max Weber (1947) provided a classification system regarding authority
that has become one of the most useful and frequently cited contributions
of early sociology. He identified three ideal types of authority:
traditional, legal-rational, and charismatic. Weber did not insist that
particular societies fit exactly into any one of these categories. Rather,
all can be present in a society, but their relative degree of importance
varies. Sociologists have found Weber’s typology to be quite valuable in
understanding different manifestations of legitimate power within a
society.
Traditional Authority
In a political system based on traditional authority, legitimate power
is conferred by custom and accepted practice. The orders of one’s superiors
are felt to be legitimate because "this is how things have always been
done." For example, a king or queen is accepted as ruler of a nation simply
by virtue of inheriting the crown. The monarch may be loved or hated,
competent or destructive; in terms of legitimacy, that does not matter. For
the traditional leader, authority rests in custom, not in personal
characteristics, technical competence, or even written law.
Traditional authority is absolute in many instances because the ruler
has the ability to determine laws and policies. Since the authority is
legitimized by ancient custom, traditional authority is commonly associated
with preindustrial societies. Yet this form of authority is also evident in
more developed nations. For example, a leader may take on the image of
having divine guidance, as was true of Japan’s Emperor Hirohito, who ruled
during World War II. On another level, ownership and leadership in some
small businesses, such as grocery stores and restaurants, may pass directly
from parent to child and generation to generation.
Legal-Rational Authority
Power made legitimate by law is known as legal-rational authority.
Leaders of such societies derive their authority from the written rules and
regulations of political systems. For example, the authority of the
president of the United States and the Congress is legitimized by the
American Constitution. Generally, in societies based on legal-rational
authority, leaders are conceived as servants of the people. They are not
viewed as having divine inspiration, as are the heads of certain societies
with traditional forms of authority The United States, as a society which
values the rule of law, has legally defined limits on the power of
government. Power is assigned to positions, not to individuals. Thus, when
Ronald Reagan became president in early 1981, he assumed the formal powers
and duties of that office as specified by the Constitution. When Reagan’s
presidency ended, those powers were transferred to his successor.
If a president acts within the legitimate powers of the office, but
not to our liking, we may wish to elect a new president. But we will not
normally argue that the president’s power is illegitimate. However, if an
official clearly exceeds the power of an office, as Richard Nixon did by
obstructing justice during investigation of the Watergate burglary, the
official’s power may come to be seen as illegitimate. Moreover, as was true
of Nixon, the person may be forced out of office.
Charismatic Authority
Weber also observed that power can be legitimized by the charisma of
an individual. The term charismatic authority refers to power made
legitimate by a leader’s exceptional personal or emotional appeal to his or
her followers. Charisma allows a person to lead or inspire without relying
on set rules or traditions. Interestingly, such authority is derived more
from the beliefs of loyal followers than from the actual qualities of
leaders. So long as people perceive the person as possessing qualities that
set him or her apart from ordinary citizens, the leader’s authority will
remain secure and often unquestioned.
Political scientist Ann Ruth Willner (1984) notes that each
charismatic leader draws upon the values, beliefs, and traditions of a
particular society. The conspicuous sexual activity of longtime Indonesian
president Achmed Sukarno reminded his followers of the gods in Japanese
legends and therefore was regarded as a sign of power and heroism. By
contrast, Indians saw Mahatma Gandhi’s celibacy as a demonstration of
superhuman self-discipline. Charismatic leaders also associate themselves
with widely respected cultural and religious heroes. Willner describes how
Ayalollah Khomeini of Iran associated himself with Husein, a Shiile Muslim
martyr; and Fidel Castro of Cuba associated himself with Jesus Christ.
Unlike traditional rulers, charismatic leaders often become well known
by breaking with established institutions and advocating dramatic changes
in the social structure. The strong hold that such individuals have over
their followers makes it easier to build protest movements which challenge
the dominant norms and values of a society. Thus, charismatic leaders such
as Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King all used their power to
press for changes in accepted social behavior. But so did Adolf Hitler,
whose charismatic appeal turned people toward violent and destructive ends.
Since it rests on the appeal of a single individual, charismatic
authority is necessarily much shorter lived than either traditional or
legal-rational authority. As a result, charismatic leaders may attempt to
solidify their positions of power by seeking other legitimating mechanisms.
For example, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959 as the leader of a
popular revolution. Yet in the decades which followed the seizure of power,
Castro stood for election (without opposition) as a means of further
legitimating his authority as leader of Cuba.
If such authority is to extend beyond the lifetime of the charismatic
leader, it must undergo what Weber called the routinization of charismatic
authority—the process by which the leadership qualities originally
associated with an individual are incorporated into either a traditional or
a legal-rational system. Thus, the charismatic authority of Jesus as leader
of the Christian church was transferred to the apostle Peter and
subsequently to the various prelates (or popes) of the faith. Similarly,
the emotional fervor supporting George Washington was routinized into
America’s constitutional system and the norm of a two-term presidency. Once
routinization has taken place, authority eventually evolves into a
traditional or legal-rational form.
As was noted earlier, Weber used traditional, legal-rational, and
charismatic authority as ideal types. In reality, particular leaders and
political systems combine elements of two or more of these forms.
Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy wielded power largely
through the legal-rational basis of their authority. At the same time, they
were unusually charismatic leaders who commanded (lie personal loyalty of
large numbers of Americans.
TYPES OF GOVERNMENT
Each society establishes a political system by which it is governed.
In modern industrial nations, a significant number of critical political
decisions are made by formal units of government. Five basic types of
government are considered: monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship,
totalitarianism, and democracy.
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government headed by a single member of a
royal family, usually a king, a queen, or some other hereditary ruler. In
earlier times, many monarchs claimed that God had granted them a divine
right to rule their lands. Typically, they governed on the basis of
traditional forms of authority, although these were sometimes accompanied
by the use of force. In the 1980s, monarchs hold genuine governmental power
in only a few nations, such as Monaco. Most monarchs have little practical
power and primarily serve ceremonial purposes.
Oligarchy
An oligarchy is a form of government in which a few individuals rule.
It is a rather old method of governing which flourished in ancient Greece
and Egypt. Today, oligarchy often takes the form of military rule. Some of
the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America are ruled by
small factions of military officers who forcibly seized power—either from
legally elected regimes or from other military cliques.
Strictly speaking, the term oligarchy is reserved for governments run
by a few select individuals. However, the Soviet Union and the People’s
Republic of China can be classified as oligarchies if we extend the meaning
of the term somewhat. In each case, power rests in the hands of a ruling
group—the Communist party. In a similar vein, drawing upon conflict theory,
one may argue that many industrialized "democratic" nations of the west
should rightly be considered oligarchies, since only a powerful few
actually rule: leaders of big business, government, and the military.
Later, we will examine this "elite model" of the American political system
in greater detail.
Dictatorship and Totalitarianism
A dictatorship is a government in which one person has nearly total
power to make and enforce laws. Dictators rule primarily through the use of
coercion, often including torture and executions. Typically, they seize
power, rather than being freely elected (as in a democracy) or inheriting a
position of power (as is true of monarchs). Some dictators are quite
charismatic and achieve a certain "popularity," though this popular support
is almost certain to be intertwined with fear. Other dictators are bitterly
hated by the populations over whom they rule with an iron hand.
Frequently, dictatorships develop such overwhelming control over
people’s lives that they are called totalitarian. Monarchies and
oligarchies also have the potential to achieve this type of dominance.
Totalitarianism involves virtually complete governmental control and
surveillance over all aspects of social and political life in a society.
Bolt Nazi Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union of the 1980s are
classified as totalitarian states.
Political scientists Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski have
identified six bask traits that typify totalitarian states. These include:
1. Large-scale use of ideology. Totalitarian societies offer explanations
for every part of life. Social goals, valued behaviors, even enemies are
conveyed in simple (and usually distorted) terms. For example, the Nazis
blamed Jews for almost every. thing wrong in Germany or other nations. If
there was a crop failure due to drought, it was sure to be seen as a
Jewish conspiracy.
2. One-party systems. A totalitarian Style has only one legal political
party, which monopolizes the offices of government. It penetrates and
controls all social institutions and serves as the source of wealth,
prestige, and power.
3. Control of weapons. Totalitarian states also monopolize the use of arms.
All military units art subject to the control of the ruling regime.
4. Terror. Totalitarian states often rely on general intimidation (such as
prohibiting unapproved publications) and individual deterrent (such as
torture and execution) to maintain control (Bahry and Silver, 1987).
Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago (1973) describe the Soviet
Union’s imprisonment of political dissenters in mental hospitals, where
they are subjected to drug and electric shock treatments.
5. Control of the media. There is no "opposition press" in a totalitarian
state. The media communicate official interpretations of events and
reinforce behaviors and policies favored by the regime.
6. Control of the economy. Totalitarian states control major sectors of the
economy. They may dissolve private ownership of industry and even small
farms. In some cases, the central state establishes production goals for
each industrial and agricultural unit. The revolt of the Polish workers’
union. Solidarity, in the early 1980s was partly directed against the
government’s power over production quotas, working conditions, and
prices.
Through such methods, totalitarian governments deny people
representation in the political, economic, and social decisions that affect
their lives. Such governments have pervasive control over people’s
destinies.
Democracy
In a literal sense, democracy means government by the people. The word
democracy originated in two Greek roots—demos, meaning "the populace" or
"the common people"; and kratia, meaning "rule." Of course, in large,
populous nations, government by all the people is impractical at the
national level. It would be impossible for the more than 246 million
Americans to vote on every important issue that comes before Congress.
Consequently, democracies are generally maintained through a mode of
participation known as representative democracy, in which certain
individuals are selected to speak for the people.
The United States is commonly classified as a representative
democracy, since we elect members of Congress and state legislatures to
handle the task of writing our laws. However, critics have questioned how
representative our democracy is. Are the masses genuinely represented? Is
there authentic self-government in the United States or merely competition
between powerful elites?
Clearly, citizens cannot be effectively represented if they are not
granted the right to vote. Yet our nation did not enfranchise black males
until 1870, and women were not allowed to vote in presidential elections
until 1920. American Indians were allowed to become citizens (thereby
qualifying to vote) only in 1924, and as late as 1956, some states
prevented Indians from voting in local elections if they lived on
reservations.
Unlike monarchies, oligarchies, and dictatorships, the democratic form
of government implies an opposition which is tolerated or, indeed,
encouraged to exist. In the United States, we have two major political
parties—the Democrats and Republicans—as well as various minor parties.
Sociologists use the term political party to refer to an organization whose
purposes are to promote candidates for elected office, advance an ideology
as reflected in positions on political issues, win elections, and exercise
power. Whether a democracy has two major political parties (as in the
United States) or incorporates a multiparty system (as in France and
Israel), it will typically stress the need for differing points of view.
Seymour Martin Upset, among other sociologists, has attempted to
identify the factors which may help to bring about democratic forms of
government. He argues that a high level of economic development encourages
both stability and democracy. Upset reached this conclusion after studying
50 nations and finding a high correlation between economic development and
certain forms of government.
Why should there be such a link? In a society with a high level of
development, the population generally tends to be urbanized and literate
and is better equipped to participate in decision making and make the views
of its members heard. In addition, as Upset suggests, a relatively affluent
society will be comparatively free from demands on government by low-income
citizens. Poor people in such nations can reasonably aspire to upward
mobility. Therefore, along with the large middle class typically found in
industrial societies, the poorer segments of society may have a stake in
economic and political stability.
Upset’s formulation has been attacked by conflict theorists, who tend
to be critical of the distribution of power within democracies. As we will
see later, many conflict theorists believe that the United States is run by
a small economic and political elite. At the same time, they observe that
economic stability does not necessarily promote or guarantee political
freedoms. Lipset (1972) himself agrees that democracy in practice is far
from ideal and that one must distinguish between varying degrees of
democracy in democratic systems of government. Thus, we cannot assume that
a high level of economic development or the self-proclaimed label of
"democracy" assures freedom and adequate political representation.
POLITICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE UNITED STATES
As American citizens we take for granted many aspects of our political
system. We are accustomed to living in a nation with a Bill of Rights, two
major political parties, voting by secret ballot, an elected president,
state and local governments distinct from the national government, and so
forth. Yet, of course, each society has its own ways of governing itself
and making decisions. Just as we expect Democratic and Republican
candidates to compete for public offices, residents of the Soviet Union are
accustomed to the domination of the Communist party. In this section, we
will examine a number of important aspects of political behavior within the
United States.
Political Socialization
Five functional prerequisites that a society must fulfill in order to
survive were identified. Among these was the need to teach recruits to
accept the values and customs of the group. In a political sense, this
function is crucial; each succeeding generation must be encouraged to
accept a society’s basic political values and its particular methods of
decision making.
Political socialization is the process by which individuals acquire
political attitudes and develop patterns of political behavior. This
involves not only learning the prevailing beliefs of a society but also
coming to accept the surrounding political system despite its limitations
and problems. In
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