Critique of coercive theories of social order

1. Critique of coercive theories of social order • Hobbes cannot explain social order • Why should rational egoists in the state of nature ever be able to lay down their arms and surrender their liberty to a coercive ruler? • The free-rider problem: how can rational egoists pursue the public good without a private reward?

2. Critique of Hobbes, cont’d • Hobbes’ solution to the problem of order stretches the conception of rationality beyond its scope in the rest of the theory, to a point where the actors come to be concerned about the social interest rather than their individual interests (Parsons 1937) • In the absence of normative limits on the use of force and fraud there will be an unlimited struggle for power • But there are no normative elements in Hobbes (nor are these central in Marx-Engels)

3. Implication • Without norms, coercion too expensive to provide social order • Need a cop on every corner • A telescreen in every room (1984) • Ethical objections • Proudhon’s list of the ‘domestic inconveniences of the state’ (pp. 162-63)

4. Weber’s contributions • 1. The concept of legitimacy • 2. Three types of social order

5. Legitimacy • In every social order, commands will be obeyed by a given group of individuals • To ensure this, there must be some voluntary compliance • people must have an interest in obeying the rules/laws • Thus, every type of social order cultivates the belief in its legitimacy

6. Legitimacy implicitly recognized in Marxism • To forestall class conflict, ruling class attains intellectual hegemony by supporting • (State) churches – religion = ‘the opiate of the people’ • Schools • The mass media • In capitalism, political, military, religious, media institutions are dependent on the ruling class • Serve the interests of the ruling class • Justify exploitation of the working class • The Orwellian conclusion • In 1984, ruling class molds thinking, through its control over media, language, etc.

7. Weber on legitimate orders • Attain compliance in different ways • Require administrative staff to rule large numbers of people • Staff = a specialized group normally trusted to execute policy • Every system of order • Has a way to bind the staff to the ruler • Has a way to bind the ruled to the ruler

8. How are these types arrived at? • By assuming what instrumental, self-interested actors would do, if they found themselves in the given social conditions • Weber imagines how rational egoists would behave in these conditions

9. Three ‘ideal types’ of social order • Abstract models of social conditions • Patrimonial (‘Traditional order’) • Rests on the belief in the sanctity of traditions, and the legitimacy of the rulers selected thereby • Bureaucratic (‘Legal order’) • Rests on the belief in the legality of enacted rules, and the right of those elevated in authority under such rules to issue commands • Charismatic • Rests on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of an individual person

10. Charismatic order • There are no fixed rules • Leaders make their own rules (said to come from a higher power) • Gandhi • Order does not depend on a continuous source of income • Wealth not pursued in a methodical manner • Regards as undignified all rational economic conduct • Master and disciples must be free of ordinary worldly attachments

11. Charismatic order, (cont’d) • Followers are not materially compensated • They often share in the goods the leader receives as donations • Ability of leader to provide goods sets a limit on charismatic authority • Leader’s mission must prove itself by fulfilling the values of faithful followers (and providing some subsistence to them)

12. Patrimonial order • Rests on the sanctity of age-old rules and powers • Masters chosen according to these rules, obeyed because of their traditional status • Motivational basis • Personal loyalty • When exercising power, the master must consider how far he can go without inciting resistance. • when resistance occurs, directed against the master personally, not against the system as such.

13. Recruitment to staff • People are recruited to a patrimonial staff either via • Traditional ties of loyalty • Kinsmen, slaves, dependents, clients, etc • Example: Saddam Hussein recruits from Tikrit • Voluntarily • People who willingly enter into a relation of loyalty to the leader • (Tom Hagen, the consigliere to the Corleone family)

14. Factors absent from patrimonial orders • Clearly defined spheres of competence subject to impersonal rules • Rationally established hierarchies • An orderly promotion system • Technical training as a requirement • Fixed monetary salaries

15. How are patrimonial staff compensated? • By living from the lord’s table • By allowances in kind • By rights of land use in exchange for services • By the appropriation of property income, fees, or taxes • By fiefs

16. A contemporary example • Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather, Part I

17. The bureaucratic order • Based on the rule of law • Abstract rules established intentionally • Law applies these general rules to specific cases, so as to rationally pursue the organization’s interests • Office holders themselves subject to an impersonal order • Members owe obedience to superiors not as individuals, but only to the impersonal order • Incumbents obliged to obey only within the scope of their job description • Members owe obedience to superiors not as individuals, but only to the impersonal order.

18. Fundamental characteristics of bureaucracy • Official business conducted according to formal rules • Hierarchy • Each lower office is under the control and supervision of a higher one • Each office has a distinct sphere of competence • Candidates for office selected according to technical qualifications • tested by exams, guaranteed by diplomas • Incumbents cannot buy their offices • Instead, staff are paid by fixed money salaries, usually with pensions

19. Bureaucracy, cont’d • The office regarded as the primary occupation of the incumbent • It constitutes a career, with a system of promotion based on seniority, merit or both • Officials accountable to superiors for their conduct in office • Administrative acts, decisions and rules formulated and recorded in writing • Meetings with minutes

20. Bureaucracy, cont’d • Rights of individuals are protected • This prevents the arbitrary use of power by superiors in the service of extra-organizational goals • Procedural justice • The right to appeal decisions and statements of grievances

21. Types of bureaucratic organizations • Governments • Armies • Profit-making firms • Including professional sports teams • Universities • Charitable organizations

22. The rationale of bureaucracy • It is the most efficient form of administration • It is the most stable and disciplined • Its activities are the most predictable • It can be used to accomplish a variety of tasks.

23. Bureaucracy = the modern system of authority • Modern organizations are types of bureaucracies • Bureaucracy -- by far the most efficient means of administration

24. The advantages of bureaucracy Takes advantage of the divisionof labor • Based on technical knowledge • greater precision, speed and objectivity in administrative organization • Ensures that the best people are selected for each position • Recruitment according to expertise • Provides a basis for individual accountability • Superiors grade performance of their subordinates • Promotion in the career contingent on good performance

25. Advantages, cont’d • Contributes to social levelling • Meritocratic rather than particularistic recruitment • Affinities with democracy • High stability • Sometimes, too stable: bureaucratic inertia • Democratic decision-making can be inefficient

26. Some disadvantages of bureaucracy • Concentrates power in the hands of a small number of people • Those at the top of the various hierarchies • Slow to adapt to environmental changes • Akin to turning around a large oil tanker • Discourages individualism, creativity, and risk-taking • An ‘iron cage’

27. A key question • Bureaucracy is a modern invention; dates from the late 18th century, at the earliest. • Yet if it is such an efficient system of administration, then why isn’t it found everywhere in space and time? • Answer: bureaucracy has certain preconditions that were not able to met until modern times

28. Why patrimonialism? • What does an instrumentally rational leader do in the absence of modern technology of communication and exchange? • The 3 essential tasks of administration • Recruiting an effective staff • Motivating the staff • Monitoring its compliance

29. Comparing the two orders

30. Question • If bureaucracy is the most efficient system of administration, why isn’t it found in the Mafia?

31. Willis, Learning to Labour • Consequence of the counter-school culture: poor achievement  placement in working-class jobs • The emergence of a ‘counter-school culture’ • ‘lads’ vs. ‘ear’ oles’ • Conflict over dress and personal attractiveness – about the legitimacy of the school as an institution • ‘having a laff’

32. Lessons from Willis • Legitimacy needed for cooperation, but not predictability • The order in the working-class school is not legitimate, yet students behave in a predictable way • They commit ‘everyday acts of resistance’ • Consequence: reproduction of the existing class structure