What is the most important source of authority in our society and why?
Politics is based on power. Legitimate authority, the typical base of politics, can be traditional, charismatic, or legal. In our society we find all three. Which does our government utilize the most and which do they try to suppress and why? Finally, which is the most important source of authority in our society and why?.
What we’re looking for here is a dynamic between based of authority. Who should we follow – people we have always followed (parents), people who inspire us (charismatic leaders), or people in positions of authority (police, politicians, teachers)? Do people with one type of authority try to downplay people with another type?
By: christypooh87
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Filed under Sociology by on Jan 1st, 2010. 
Comments on What is the most important source of authority in our society and why?
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1. In the Weberian model of authority and power that you are using we could trace both elements of charisma and legal authority in Obama’s appoinment to the Presidency Then compare his particular combination of authority forms with the status of other poltical leaders like Gordon Brown , Putin,etc.
2. However in current Marxian models we could point too to
a) the role of advertising agencies who cajole us to ‘need to need’
‘b) the global power of transnational corporate leaders.
c) the control of the heads of government bureaucracies especially those in the Treasury who are dominated by the ideology of Economic Rationalism. Then compare them with other heads of departments who prefer a more Keynesian approach to the economy. nb there is a lot of mud slinging between these different authorities – each claiming to have the most ‘rational’ interpretation