Distinguish between power and authority

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Power is the ability of persons or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from

others. Through the use of persuasion, authority, or force, some people are able to get

others to acquiesce to their demands. Power is a social relationship that involves

leaders and followers and enables some to have more access to and control of social

and material resources. Although the most basic form of power is physical violence or

force, most political leaders do not want to base their power on force alone. Weber

suggested that force is not the most effective long-term means of gaining compliance.

Therefore, leaders do not want to base their power on force alone. Instead, they seek

to legitimize their power by turning it into authority—power that people accept as

legitimate rather than coercive. People have a greater tendency to accept authority as

legitimate if they are economically or politically dependent on those who hold power.

They may also accept authority more readily if it reflects their own beliefs and values.

Weber identified three ideal types of authority—traditional, charismatic, and rational–

legal.