Power and Politics Chapter 6

1. Power and PoliticsChapter 6 Steven Lukes Jeff Manza

2. THE BIG QUESTIONS • What are the distinct forms of power? • How does the state distribute power in a society? • Who has power in the United States today?

3. Power and the Political Order • Power • the ability to achieve ends despite resistance • Illegitimate power • Society does not approve of the way that power is applied • This type of power is called coercion • Legitimate power • Society approves of the way that power is applied • This type of power is called authority

4. Types of Authority • Traditional • Authority is legitimized by the historical beliefs and practices of a society • Kings rule according to tradition • Legal-rational • Authority is derived from rules and laws • Rules are written in constitutions or charters • Charismatic • Authority is derived from an individual’s exceptional personal qualities • Qualities include personal magnetism or wisdom

5. Exercising Power • Ideal types • An abstract description that reveals the essential features • Types of authority are ideals • State • The highest political authority within a territory • Government • The people who are directing the state

6. Types of States • Authoritarian • People are excluded from governing process • Opposition not usually permitted • Government is not interested in daily life of the people • Totalitarian • Government has unlimited power • Tolerates no opposition • Close control over activities of citizens • Democratic • Allows citizen input in governing • Permits elections and dismissing of leaders

7. Nations and States • State • The highest political authority in an area • Nation • A group that lives within a territory and shares a common history, culture and identity • Nation-state • The supreme political authority within a territory that incorporates a nation • A combination of nation and state

8. War: An institutionalized violent conflict between nations or tribes • Total war • An instrument of foreign policy • Every resource must be devoted to victory • Marx • Seeds in capitalism: never ending need for resources • Institutional theory • Cooperative relations between institutions • Military industrial complex dominates foreign policy • United Nations can confer legitimacy

9. Terrorism:A non-institutionalized use of threat, intimidation, and violence to reach a political objective. • Terrorists can use any methods • No institutionalized support or authority • Intent is to spread fear, discontent, and panic • Selected targets: special category of people • Random targets: anyone at any time • Eventually, people insist government must agree to terrorist demands • Exchange for ending violence

10. Human Rights • Broadly defined rights people are entitled by virtue their humanity • Includes freedom and equality • Amnesty International • Voluntary organization publicly monitors violations • No effective international organization can prevent human rights violations

11. A political organization meant to legitimately influence the government A two-party system in the U.S. keeps third parties ineffective Parties can influence government appointments Parties form coalitions for united stands Parties are focus for conflict Party platform defines ideology, goals, and differences from opposing party Political Parties

12. Special Interest Groups • Lobbyists • A person employed by a corporation, union, or other organization • Intent is to influence congressional votes on certain bills • Interest group • An organization formed to sway political decisions • PAC • Political Action Committees raise money for special interest groups

13. Voting: The opportunity to elect government officials. • Voter participation • Many do not vote in U.S. • High rates of voting in Europe • Voting and social groups • Poor and minorities less likely to vote • Gender differences reflect differing concerns • Voter registration • Requirements may discourage participation

14. Power Elite • Small group controls the U.S. • Economy, Government, Military • Social elites • Know each other • Share a similar world view • Work cooperatively to achieve a political agenda

15. Pluralist Model • Power is diffused throughout society • Multiple centers of power • Business associations, Unions, Schools • Ethnic groups • Veto groups • Power centers that are able to block actions of other groups • Multinational corporations, professional organizations

16. Politics and Functionalism • Maintaining order • A major social function • State must assume this responsibility • Interact with other states • Treaties and alliances must be accomplished through a central authority • Direct the system • state must be responsible for regulating important institutions and procedures

17. Conflict and the Political Order • Conflict is an inherent part of the political order • Various groups must compete for limited resources • Struggle for outcomes depend on wealth and power • Democracy does not prevent power from being centralized in hands of few • Tools of democracy don’t always work

18. Symbolic Interaction • Political socialization • Formal and informal learning that creates a political self identity • Agents • Families create initial political attitudes • Media creates powerful images and information

19. QUESTION 1 What are the distinct forms of power?

20. Who Has Power? The one-dimensional view • Power is observable when one party prevails in a conflict • Breaking the “rules of the game” may occur • Power held by power elite; refuted by Dahl’s pluralism thesis

21. Who Has Power? The two-dimensional view • Power to decide what gets decided • Agenda setting, manipulating, and control occurs • Grievances of excluded or marginal groups can be denied • Subordinate groups may not try to challenge

22. Who Has Power? The three-dimensional view • Power always involves behavior • Power can be caused without exercising it • Powerful people often attract others • Power by persuasion can be used to maintain the status quo

23. Agenda Setting Why is agenda setting in politics important? • Mass media influences politiciansand policymakers • Subordinate individuals may desire change but feel it is useful to try-leading to inactivity

24. When Is Power Least Visible? Invisible power reflects • Ability of a power holder to keep challenges from arising in the first place • Capacity of a power holder to convince subordinate groups that it is in their best interests to support the status quo

25. QUESTION 2 How does the state distribute power in a society?

26. What Is the “State”? State • Includes all formal political institutions and legal system of any society • Alters balance of power among individuals, groups, and within society through policies and programs • Enforces contracts to help make a market economy work

27. How Do States Regulate the Economy? Laws and policies to prevent large corporations from driving smaller competitors out of business • Insider trading • False advertising • Unsafe working environments • Blocking of compensation for innocent third parties when corporate actions cause harm

28. True or False? Policy will always favor the powerful! Always? Some of the time?

29. QUESTION 3 Who has power in the United States today?

30. Who Wins? Policy and Politics in the First Dimension What are the broad patterns buried in the day-to-day political conflicts and outcomes? • Tax policies • Antipoverty programs

31. Top 1 Percent of Families’ Share of National Income Check your text. What have you learned about how policy changes have altered the way income and wealth are distributed in the United States?

32. Tax Policies and Power What do tax policies tell us about how power is distributed in the U.S.? • United States has long-standing progressive income tax system • Tax burdens on high earners have declined dramatically in the past 30 years • Tax cuts on high earners appeared during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton presidencies • Investment income of super-rich and wealthy often sheltered through loopholes and tax breaks

33. Agree or Disagree? The limited welfare state highlights some of the unique features of the American political system that systematically disadvantage the poor and the middle class politically.

34. Antipoverty Policy Why is there so much child poverty in the United States? • Hypothetical poverty rates (based just on market incomes before government action) in countries with rates as high as those in the U.S., have lower actual poverty rates • No country does as little to reduce poverty as the U.S. What are the consequences?

35. Who Sets the Agenda? Why are there only two political parties in America, and why does it matter? • Electoral system established by Constitution makes it virtually impossible for viable third party • Lack of proportional representation do not allow minority parties to gain representation

36. Money and American Politics • American politics are expensive • Most candidate support comes from wealthy individuals, large corporations, and political action committees • High-spending media campaigns are most efficient way to reach voters

37. The Third Dimension: American beliefs • Political system favors preference of powerful • The rich should pay more taxes than poor • Taxes are too high • Government should spend more on social programs • Market is better at solving social problems than the government

38. Contradictory Views What contradictory views do Americans hold on policies involving the unequal distribution of income? • Support for more equality but not for higher taxes to achieve it • “Conservative egalitarians”

39. Health Care Do you see the gap between the proportion of Americans supporting better health care in the abstract and the promotion wanting a government run program?

40. Replacing the Estate Tax

41. Thoughts and Questions for Future Investigations • Thinking about power and politics in three dimensions creates a different way of thinking about political life • Application of the sociological imagination can be a useful tool in the study of power • Study of power should be considered a central task for all sociology • Power can be analyzed in terms of three dimensions and how they reinforce on another • Analysis is always the precursor to effective change