Power Assessment:

On a piece of paper, please answer the following questions:

1. Make a list of all the individuals, institutions and circumstances that have power over you. For each one, briefly describe how they have power over you.

2. Make a list of all the individuals, institutions and circumstances in which you have power. For each one, briefly describe how you have power

3. Overall, how do you feel about power in your life? Why?

Power and Government

“Society in every state (condition) is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one”

-Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

NY Times and CBS News Poll “How much of the time do you think

you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right: just about always, most of the time or only some of the time?” 5% said just about always 25% said most of the time 66% said only some of the time 4% said never

What is Power?

“the possibility of imposing one’s will upon the behavior of other persons.” Sociologist Max Weber

“our capacity to get other people to do the things that contribute to what we want.” Economist Kenneth E. Boulding

Power and Authority

What is authority? Do authority and power go hand-in-

hand? Are people in power corrupt? How

so?

Power Defined

Our capacity to get other people to do what we want ~Kenneth E. Boulding

This is the bottom line, when have you been able to get someone to do what you want? Are you doing what I want right now?

Five Sources of Power

Expertise Coercion Rewards Persuasion Formal Authority Think about each of these, what are

they, how would they relate to power?

What gives a Ruler Legitimacy?

When the power and authority of a leader is accepted by the people it is said to be legitimate

Throughout history this has been argued through the mandate of heaven, divine right of kings and social-contract theory

What do you think works?

Government and the State How is government defined? What are the basic powers every

government holds? What are the four defining characteristics of

the state? How have we attempted to explain origin of

the state? What is the purpose of government in the

United States and other countries?

Government Defined

Government is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies (often referring to a nation-state).

Why do we need government?

The State The state can be defined as having these

four characteristics Population:States must have people, the number of which does not directly relate to its existence

Sovereign: Every state is sovereign. It has supreme and absolute power within its own territory and decides its own foreign and domestic policies

Territory: A state must be comprised of land, territory with known and recognized boundaries

Government: Every state has a government, that is, it is politically organized

Origins of the State

The Force Theory: states that one person or small group took control of an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule

The Evolutionary Theory: argues that the state evolved naturally out of the early family

Origins of the State cont.

The Divine Right Theory: holds that God created the state and that God gives those of royal birth a “divine right” to rule

The Social Contract Theory: argues that the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people.

The Purpose of Government The main purposes of government are

described in the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States “We the people of the United States, in Order to

form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America”