Sociology 1020 Chapter Notes - Chapter 18: Resource Mobilization, Relative Deprivation, Elite Theory
15 Apr 2016
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Normal politics are practiced when authorities are rmly in power. Politics beyond the rules is practised when the legitimacy of authority grows weak. Pluralist theory on relationship of state to civil society: Heterogenous society with competing interests and centres of power. All competing groups in uence the political sphere equally over time. Elites are small groups that occupy the command posts of a society"s institutions. The people controlling these institutions make the decisions that affect the rest of society. Structuralists: the structure of the state acts as an arm of big business because it is constrained to do so by the nature of the capitalist system itself. The distribution of power in society changes frequently. Allows that power usually concentrates in the hands of the wealthy but notes that other classes sometimes gain power. Distribution of power depends on how democratic a society is; if more citizens wield more clout then society becomes more democratic.
