Explain and discuss the relationship b
‘Explain and discuss the relationship between power, authority and legitimacy.’
The aim of this essay is the one to discuss more in detail the relationship between power, authority and legitimacy. However, in order to better understand the issues and arguments which regard the three of them, I will give a brief description of the following and at last state the view of the great philosopher Plato.
Power is what we define as the ability to force others into doing certain things even against their will. It can be operated in different ways such as persuasion and coercion. The difference between the two of them is mainly that persuasion should lead people to do things by their will, freely, while coercion is usually using force, sanctions and other kinds of obligations.
An example of power is the use of laws by the State. In fact, the state has the power to enact laws, that are then enforced by the police by the use of force – which is a form of power-.
Authority instead, does not stand necessarily through actions. There can be the concept of theoretical authority or expertise. In this case, a person can be an authority (an expert) in a specific field. For example, a doctor knows how to treat certain diseases. Therefore, we ask advice to this “autority”/theoretical expert to know how to cure ourselves.
The other kind of autority that we will be looking at is pratical authority. This type of authority is the most known as it usually shows in an individual which can get us to act in particular ways, through the use of power.
Legitimacy could be described as justified power. The state is legitimate when it acts according to the laws. However, to use the laws in a proper way, you will always need the use of force in order to make sure that everybody respects them.
An issue that could easily arise is whether legitimacy is enough to justify certain uses of power. Not just because something is described as legitimate should then have the power to impose certain
The aim of this essay is the one to discuss more in detail the relationship between power, authority and legitimacy. However, in order to better understand the issues and arguments which regard the three of them, I will give a brief description of the following and at last state the view of the great philosopher Plato.
Power is what we define as the ability to force others into doing certain things even against their will. It can be operated in different ways such as persuasion and coercion. The difference between the two of them is mainly that persuasion should lead people to do things by their will, freely, while coercion is usually using force, sanctions and other kinds of obligations.
An example of power is the use of laws by the State. In fact, the state has the power to enact laws, that are then enforced by the police by the use of force – which is a form of power-.
Authority instead, does not stand necessarily through actions. There can be the concept of theoretical authority or expertise. In this case, a person can be an authority (an expert) in a specific field. For example, a doctor knows how to treat certain diseases. Therefore, we ask advice to this “autority”/theoretical expert to know how to cure ourselves.
The other kind of autority that we will be looking at is pratical authority. This type of authority is the most known as it usually shows in an individual which can get us to act in particular ways, through the use of power.
Legitimacy could be described as justified power. The state is legitimate when it acts according to the laws. However, to use the laws in a proper way, you will always need the use of force in order to make sure that everybody respects them.
An issue that could easily arise is whether legitimacy is enough to justify certain uses of power. Not just because something is described as legitimate should then have the power to impose certain