1 / 7

Understanding Political and Economic Institutions

Explore the intricate connection between business and government, delve into the roles of economic and political institutions in determining power and authority, and uncover the various forms of authority according to Max Weber.

mbeaver
Download Presentation

Understanding Political and Economic Institutions

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Political/Economic Institutions:Power and Authority Unit 6: Social Institutions

  2. Political and Economic Institutions • There is a very close connection between business and government • Economic Institution: an institution that determines how goods and services are produced and distributed • Political Institution: an institution that determines how power is obtained and exercised

  3. Power • According to Max Weber, power is the ability to control the behavior of others, even against their will • Power can take a variety of forms • Weber also defined another type of power, coercion: the use of physical force or threats to maintain control • Political systems based on coercive power will be unstable

  4. Authority • Weber believed that a political institution must rest on a stable form of power to function and survive • Authority: is power accepted as legitimate by those who are subject to it

  5. Forms of Authority • Weber Identified 3 Types of Authority: charismatic, traditional, and rational-legal • Charismatic: authority that arises from the personality of the individual (MLK, JFK) • They lead from the power of their personalities and trust that is inspired by it • Charismatic is too unstable to function alone in a modern state because it is difficult to transfer • Governments under Charismatic authority must eventually rely on other forms of authority

  6. Forms of Authority • Traditional Authority: forms of authority in which the legitimacy of the leader is rooted in customs • Monarchy are based on tradition b/c only certain people can replace the king • Rational-Legal Authority: authority in which the power of government officials is based on the offices they hold (the power is in the office rather than the official) • People in offices are expected to operated based on rules and procedures that define and limit that office • Because the authority lies in the position, the person loses power when they leave office • People in power can lose power if they abuse it

  7. Types of Political Systems • There are 3 basic types of political systems • Democratic • Totalitarian • Authoritarian

More Related