SOCIOL 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Seymour Martin Lipset, Fourth Estate, Critical Role
Document Summary
Society is composed of groups that compete to determine who gets what and how they get it". When groups operate through established governmental channels to do so, this competition is referred to as politics (ritzer) These theories provide explanations of how political power is distributed and exercised in modern democratic capitalist societies (e. g. , united states) Weber: power is the ability of an individual or group to achieve its goals despite the resistance of others". Domination legitimated on the basis of legally enacted rules and the right of those with authority under those rules to issue commands (r&m 118). Society permits multiple groups and organizations to compete for access to political power to attempt to further their interests . Pluralists see a balance of group power, where no one group retains power indefinitely . The status of any group political parties or interest groups can always be challenged.
