SOCA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Charismatic Authority, Traditional Authority, Ultimate Power
Document Summary
Trend is for democracy to take more and more of the freedom away. State begins to feel that they can tell people how to lead their lives (ex. wear safety helmets when riding motor cycle, why? because the state has to pay if they get injured) Beginning of 20th century there wasn"t even an income tax. Legitimacy= weber said that power can become legitimized and when it does it becomes authority. Government gets what it want by threatening people, especially in non-democracy"s. Power to coerce= seen as justified in society. In democracy people accept the government and that is legitimacy. It is difficult for any large complex society to operate successfully without any legitimacy. Canada, gov cannot use power and coercion when declaring a state emergency. Authority is inherited, by family or clan, or it can derive from religion. Totalitarianism= soviet union= people cannot resist: soviet union collapsed one of the reasons is because of lack of legitimacy.
