Promises, etc.
It is believed that power appeared with the emergence of human society and will always accompany its development in one form or another. It is necessary for the organization of social production, which requires the subordination of all participants to a single will, as well as for regulating other relationships between people in society.
A specific variety is political power- the ability of a certain social group or class to exercise its will, to influence the activities of others social groups or classes. Unlike other types of power (family, public, etc.), political power exerts its influence on large groups of people, uses for this purpose a specially created apparatus and specific means. The strongest element of political power is the state and the system of state bodies exercising state power.
Social contract theory
The most prominent representatives of the concepts of power, which received the generalized name " social contract theory", Are Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704), J.-J. Rousseau (1712-1788).
According to T. Hobbes, the state arose on the basis of a social contract from a natural pre-state existence, when people lived disunitedly and were in a state of "war of all against all." The State was established to ensure world peace and security. As a result of the social contract, the rights of individual citizens who voluntarily limited their freedom were transferred to the sovereign. The sovereign was entrusted with the function of protecting peace and prosperity. The good of the people is the supreme law of the state. Concern for the world is the basis of natural law, created by the social contract.
J. Locke draws inevitability state power from the standpoint of the theory of natural law and the "social contract". Only a certain part of "natural rights" is transferred to the government for the sake of effective protection of all the rest - freedom of speech, faith and, above all, property. The legislature should be separated from the executive (including the judiciary) and the "federal" (foreign relations). Moreover, the government itself must obey the law. The people remain unconditional sovereign and have the right not to support and even to overthrow an irresponsible government.
J.-J. Rousseau defined the social contract as a historically necessary state of mankind, exercising popular sovereignty and de facto equality by subordinating to the general will, which expresses the objective interests of the people. The basic principle of the political system is the implementation of direct democracy through a republican state, governed by a system of laws adopted by the assembly of all citizens.
Sources of power
In today's increasingly complex world, a person's ability to subjugate other people is increasingly dependent on his mental abilities. Intellectual power is sometimes much more effective than brute force. Even in the criminal world, the leader's authority is often determined not so much by his physical characteristics as by his ability to plan a crime with impunity.
Moral authority that appeals to justice, honesty, duty, and other moral values is more effective when its holder is able to serve as an example for others in this respect.
power struggle
Types of power
Some define the following types of authority:
Functions of power
Some [ who?] define the following power functions:
- Regulatory
- Controlling
- managerial
- Coordinating
- Educational
Forms of manifestation of power
Some [ who?] define the following forms of manifestation of power:
Power technologies
Some [ who?] define the following power technologies:
Forms of government, political regimes and systems
Some define the following forms of government, political regimes and systems of power.
a system of socio-political relations expressing the ability, right and ability of someone to decisively influence the actions and behavior of other people and their groups, relying on their will and authority, legal and moral norms, the threat of coercion and punishment, customs and traditions.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
POWER
special social relations of domination and subordination, in which the will and actions of some people, organizations prevail (dominates) over the will and actions of other people, organizations (subjects). Those in power have the ability to command. In primitive society, V. had a purely social character. Such power structures were tribal governments. Any V. is realized in certain relations - power relations. The need to establish power relations arises due to the need to regulate people's behavior. The war of elders and leaders was based solely on authority, on the deep respect of all members of the clan for the elders, their experience, wisdom, and the courage of hunters and warriors. Customs played a huge role in the tribal community, with the help of which the life of the clan and its members was regulated. With the advent of the state, the organization and implementation of military affairs are concentrated in the hands of special bodies constantly involved in the management of public affairs, i.e. is carried out through the "apparatus of power" and is based on the institutions of organized, state coercion. V. is called upon to serve society, ensure its integrity, proper functioning, serve the individual, ensuring and protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
POWER
POWER
A management tool used to achieve set goals. Goals can be group, class, collective, personal, state, etc. V. is called upon to do everything in order to achieve those goals that must be preserved, but at the same time improve and change management. The concept of V. is multifaceted and multifaceted. It covers relationships that are manifested both at the macro level (V. state-va) and at the micro level (V. of parents over children).
V. - biosocial, the makings of V. are inherited by people from nature. Already in the animal world there is a certain "". The leader of the herd of monkeys has a huge "B." over all the other monkeys, and they feel it well. Without such a leader, any herd can die, because it will lose its bearings and in the harsh conditions of the struggle for it will not be able to adapt to new living conditions. She herself made sure that someone from the herd of animals needs to have a “V.”, which allows him to play the role of leader in different situations. Being stronger, the leader subjugates all the others.
All people by nature have dominion over their own kind. Lust for power is inherent in everyone, but in some it is manifested more strongly, while in others it is weaker. The realization of power inclinations depends solely on social conditions. For example, Napoleon would not have become emperor of France if Corsica had not been annexed to France three months before his birth and if the country had not broken out.
For the implementation of V., at least it and the object are necessary: one gives orders, they are carried out. The subject orders the object, and the object obeys, for disobedience entails.
The state, political parties, individuals, groups, through their representatives, act as subjects of V.. The same applies to object B. Subject and object B. can change places. Subordination to the subject of V. presupposes such forms of relationships in which his orders are carried out with necessity. At the same time, the subject of V. must have the appropriate authority, giving him orders to the object of V. and require him to carry out orders.
Power assumes the implementation of the decisions made. Failure to comply with the decision should result in punishment, which can be economic, administrative, criminal, etc.
Political warfare is also coercion. Naturally, many do not like her, despise and reject. Anarchists, for example, believe that V. exists and must be disposed of by any means. V. is, however, an immanent feature of society, and it cannot function normally without appropriate power structures. People are afraid of V., but at the same time, if anomalous phenomena take over in society - crime, theft, robbery, etc. - they complain about the absence of V. Anarchy leads either to the disintegration of all parties public life and ultimately to its death, or to the establishment of a dictatorship.
V. is not identical with authority. The subject may have V., but not authority, although the possession of V. does not exclude the presence of authority. The subject acquires it gradually and deserves it through his activities that benefit society, collective, group, political party, mafia, etc. The subject of authority gives advice and recommendations, which can be taken into account, or can be ignored, which is unacceptable in relation to the orders of the subject B. Many prominent people(writers, scientists, artists, etc.), having no V., enjoy great prestige in society. As for the V. haves, they must earn authority by their deeds, and not by promises.
Exist different classifications types of V., which depend on social life, on the nature and content of V. itself, etc. First, in general form it is possible to single out internal, external, “natural”, and institutional V. Internal V. follows from the internal nature of the object V. External V. is V. that does not follow from the internal nature of its object. It involves submission to someone else's will, imposing one's own vision of the world, one's own order and way of life. Thus, the victorious state forces the defeated one to submit to it, to restructure its own in accordance with the ideas of the victorious state. By “natural” V. is meant V., which, as it were, is given by nature. For example, the leaders of primitive tribes had a large V., but they received it naturally, i.e. thanks to their natural gifts, their devotion to the tribe, etc. As for the institutional V., it is based on legal laws and norms. Depending on the spheres of public life, V. can be distinguished as economic, political, spiritual, and so on. In turn, economic V. can be divided into subspecies (V. within an enterprise, corporation, firm, etc.). Political V. is also manifested in various forms(, democracy, dictatorship, oligarchy, personal V. regime, legislative, executive and judicial branches of V., etc.).
Each generates his own social V. In primitive society, such a type of V. (leaders, an assembly of the clan) dominated, which most adequately corresponded low level productive forces and production relations. But already with the transition to a class society, another type of war appears, appearing in various forms (monarchy, democracy, tyranny, etc.). The forms of its manifestation depend on concrete historical conditions. So, in Athens in the era of Pericles, a developed slave-owning system functioned, in antich. Rome's republican government was replaced by a dictatorship. Monarchy is typical of feudalism. As for the capitalist mode of production, the typical form of war for it is the republic, although dictatorial regimes appear under certain historical circumstances. But sooner or later they give way to the republican form of government.
Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Gardariki. Edited by A.A. Ivina. 2004 .
POWER
in a general sense, and the ability to exercise one's will, to have a decisive influence on the behavior of people with the help of c.-l. means - authority, law, violence (economic, political, state, family and others) .
Scientific approach to the definition of V. requires taking into account the multiplicity of its manifestations in society, and therefore, clarifying the specific. features otd. its types - economic, political (including state, public), family; delimitations of class, group, personal V., which are intertwined with each other, but are not reduced to each other; delimitation of features, forms and methods of manifestation of V. in various social, economic. and political systems. If in antagonistic society ch. characteristic of V. are relations of domination and subordination, then in the socialist. society, they are increasingly being replaced by relationships based on persuasion, leadership, influence, and control.
The most important type of V. is political. AT., real ability this class, groups, individuals to carry out their will in politics and legal norms; it is characterized by social domination and leadership of certain classes. Although now political activities are carried out within the various components of the political. systems: parties, trade unions, intl. organizations (UN, NATO and others) , center. political institute. V. is a state. State. V. has a class, relies on specialist. the apparatus of coercion and extends to the entire population of a given country; it means defined. organization and activities in the implementation of the goals and objectives of this organization.
V. is one of main concepts of politics. science and practice. V. I. Lenin wrote that “the transfer of state power from the hands of one class to the hands of another is the first, main, fundamental revolution, both in the strictly scientific and practical political meaning of this concept” (PSS, t. 31, With. 133) that "the root of any revolution, the question of power in the state ..." (ibid., t. 32, With. 127, cm. also, t. 34, With. 200) .
Societies. V. existed before the appearance of the state, it will remain in one form or another after its disappearance. Criticizing the position of P. B. Struve, who argued that it would remain even after the abolition of classes, Lenin wrote: human hostel, both in the tribal structure and in the family, but there was no state here ... A sign of the state is a special class of persons in whose hands power is concentrated ” (ibid., t. 1, With. 439) .
State. V. can achieve his goals various means- ideological. impact, economic incentives and other indirect means, but only she has a monopoly on coercion with the help of specialist. apparatus in relation to all members of society.
Dominance suggests abs. or relates. subjugation of some people (social groups) others. Leadership denotes the ability to exercise one's will by influencing in various direct and indirect forms on guided objects. It can be based solely on authority, on the recognition by the governed of correspondences. powers of managers with a minimum implementation of imperiously-compels. functions. So, the leadership from the communist side. or the workers' party relies mainly on the ideological influence on the masses, on the strength of authority. The effectiveness of leadership depends on the correctness of the party's policy, on the extent to which its ideas and concrete decisions meet the interests of the masses, the objective needs of societies. development.
It is also important to distinguish between the concepts of political. leadership and management. Yes, in modern imperialist monopoly groups exercise a leading role in society and the state. However, they do not take on the functions directly. controls that are carried out prof. political figures, the administrative apparatus. The monopolies exert their decisive influence on the policy of the capitalist. states by various means: the very fact of concentrating in their hands the key levers of the economy, the direction of activity, financing determined. parties and political campaigns, influence on the nature of constitutional regimes, on the formation of societies. opinions, on the activities of various pressure groups in parliaments, in state institutions and t. Lenin emphasized that under the conditions of parliamentary regimes he leads society indirectly, but all the more surely. “That special stratum in whose hands is power in modern society,” wrote Lenin, “is. The direct and closest relationship of this body with ... the bourgeois class is also clear from history ... from the very conditions for the formation and staffing of this class, to which access is open only to bourgeois "come from the people" and which is connected with this bourgeoisie by a thousand strongest threads. (ibid., With. 439-40) .
The leading force in the socialist countries advocates, which exercises its leadership primarily through the communist. or a workers' party, and specialists working in the field of economy, culture, education and others Communist and workers' parties, exercising leadership of society, are at the center of all political. systems. They influence, firstly, by developing an ideology and policies, programs for the activities of society; secondly, shaping and organizing the implementation of these programs internal and ext. politicians; thirdly, by nominating their representatives to key positions in the areas of management, teaching them how to manage; fourthly, controlling the implementation of the planned line. directly with them. business and others processes are handled by farms., state, societies. and other organizations. The distinction between the concepts of leadership and management in the conditions of socialist. society has not only theoretical, but also practical. . This approach helps to properly distribute functions, rights and responsibilities between various political units. systems of the socialist countries, to avoid parallelism in their activities, to make management as efficient as possible.
Under communist conditions societies. self-government will wither away the main institution politich. V. - state, however, leadership and management will be maintained, which will be carried out by the whole society.
F. Engels, On Authority, K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, t. eighteen; e ss, The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, ibid., t. 21; Lenin V. I., On the social structure of V., prospects and liquidationism, PSS, t. twenty; his own, Tasks of the proletariat in our revolution, din, t. 31, With. 162-65; him, Gosvo and the revolution, in the same place, t. 33; his own, Prolet, the revolution and the renegade Kautsky, ibid., t. 37; Materials of the XXIV Congress CPSU, M., 1971; Materials of the XXV Congress CPSU, M., 1976; Materials of the XXVI Congress CPSU, M., 1981; Burlatsky F. M., Galkin A. A., Sociology. Politics. International relations, M., 1974; Veselovsky V., Classes, elephant and V., per. With Polish, M., 1981.
F. M. Burlatsky.
Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editors: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 .
POWER
in contrast to physical violence, which affects the soul and penetrates them, subordinating another to the law of its will. In essence, it is similar authority. Its correlate is respect; it is ethical if and only if it guides the one who respects it in such a way that he is able to realize more and higher values (cf. Ethics), without being directly affected by the authorities. Power needs justification, and these attempts are an essential part of history. Power inherent demonic. “Truly, this is demonic power: even where it fights for the ideal in the highest degree selflessly, considering success to be lasting only when it defends its own with exceptional vitality, it resolutely carries out its own, linking the passionate desire for its own significance directly with its deeds. . Whoever has power is possessed by it” (Gerh. Ritter, Die Dämonie der Marcht, 1947). Therefore, power in the understanding of orthodox Christianity is sinful under all circumstances.
Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 .
POWER
POWER is the ability to influence something or someone. Power is closely related to dominance and authority. M. Weber defined power as follows: “The power lies in individual A to achieve from individual B such behavior or such refraining from actions that B would not otherwise accept and which corresponds to the will of A.”
In modern political science, four models of power are best known.
Voluntarism is based on the traditions of the social contract, social atomism and methodological
skom individualism (see Social contract. Atomism). In this model, power is viewed through the prism of intentions and passions. All social life is essentially reduced to the claims and relations of individuals. Anyone is presented only as a collection of individual wills. For the first time this model of power relations was formulated in the works of the classics of the English political - T. Hobbes, J. Locke. D. Hume showed that “power” is close to the concept of “cause”, but unlike the cause, power is also associated with the result.
The modern political scientist R. Dahl considers power as the ability to force others to do something that, in the absence of pressure, they would not do, that is, as the ability to bring things into, change the course of events. Imperious, in his view, consists of two main elements - stimulus and reaction. By analogy with Newtonian mechanics, it is assumed that all bodies are in a state of relative rest until some external force acts on them. That is the power that power is. In essence, Dahl is causal in nature.
This same model of power includes “rational choice” (see rational choice theory), which postulates the existence of hidden causes and structures. Social life consists of a chain of successive interactions between individuals and groups in which special role motivation, incentives of participants in power relations are given.
Many critics of the voluntarist model of power have pointed out that it does not provide a theoretical explanation of how and why individuals are able to exercise power in the way they do it. In addition, this model does not take into account at all the ideological and cultural-historical prerequisites that determine the preferences and goals of human activity.
The hermeneutic or communicative model is related to phenomenology and hermeneutics. Its supporters believe that power is constituted due to the meanings shared by the members of a given social community. Beliefs are a central ingredient in power relations, and considerations of rationality are necessarily involved in social life. The interest of hermeneutics is directed primarily to the symbolic and normative constructs that form the practical data of social agents. This approach also includes the belief that people are by nature linguistic beings and largely determine the nature of society, including the forms of existing power. For example, Arendt Hanna in his work “On Violence” holds that power means the ability of a person to act, but to act jointly. Power, in her opinion, is never the property of an individual, but belongs to a group and exists only as long as it retains its own. Humans are uniquely communicative beings, and it is through their ability to share thoughts and relationships with others that their ability to dominate and obey is maintained.
For supporters of this model, power is included in the system of values that constitute, as well as the possibilities for the activities of social agents.
The “material” aspects of power relations remained essentially out of their interest.
The structuralist model of power is associated with the names of K. Marx and 9. Durkheim. It rejects the methodological approach, and does not accept a purely approach. Power, according to this model, has a structural objectivity that is not recognized in either the voluntarist or the hermeneutic model. The power structure makes human behavior possible and limits it at the same time. It may have a normative character, but it is not limited to the views and beliefs of people.
The structural approach defines power as the ability to act. Social agents have power by virtue of the stability of the relationships in which they participate. It has a certain "materiality" because it follows certain structural rules, has its own resources and relationships. This is the dual nature of structures: social structures do not exist independently of the activity and people's ideas about it, and at the same time they act as the material conditions of activity. This structure does not arise simply from relations, for example, between the capitalist and the workers, is not reducible to the views of the capitalist on the workers, but is inherent in capitalism as a whole. Participants of interactions rely on it, realizing certain goals, including those of an imperious nature.
The postmodern model of power has variants, ranging from M. Foucault to modern feminism. Rejecting individualism and , postmodern theorists believe that language and symbols are the central elements of power. From their point of view, the scientific does not have sufficient cognitive reliability. Thus, Foucault sees it in "stirring up the revolt of enslaved knowledge", which is obscured, if not disqualified, by generally accepted knowledge. In the genealogical analysis of power, he proceeds from the fact that power is concentrated not only in the political sphere. Power relationships are found everywhere: in personal relationships, in the family, at the university, in the office, in the hospital, in the culture as a whole. The asymmetry of influences, which consists in the fact that A has a stronger influence on B than B on A, suggests that power is a universal social relation. Therefore, the task of a politician is to take off the mask from power, especially in those areas of life where the relationship of domination and subordination is not evident. Power, according to Foucault, is certain structures or discourses that have both positive and negative. Social agents are created due to the power relations in which they participate, and no matter how "resistance" to this power may be, social agents are always limited to those structures in which they appeared.
Postmodern theorists emphasize the local analysis of "micro-power". Any globality or approach to the study of social power always presupposes a totalitarian discourse. Moreover, it is the local that is anti-epistemological. Based on the ideas of F. Nietzsche, Foucault tries to ontologize domination in one form or another. The right must be considered not from the point of view of the legitimacy of its establishment, but from the point of view of the enslavement that it provokes.
Power is the ability and opportunity to embody one's will, to influence the behavior and fate of other people. It can be political, economic, spiritual, family, etc. In this article, we will consider the first type of power (features, characteristics, functioning of the relevant bodies on the example of the Russian Federation).
Definitions of power
B. Russell attributed the concept of power to the central categories of political science. He, among other things, noted her great value and fundamentality. T. Parsons, considering power as the core of social relations, compared its place in politics with the position of money, which they occupy in the economic sphere.
In science, this concept has its own long research history. In modern times, scientists sought to create the possibility of such a structural reorganization of power, which would allow it to be democratized and subordinated to the law. To do this, it was supposed to distribute it into several independent, but interconnected structures. So, the French educator C. Montesquieu, considering the concept of power, divided it into three branches: legislative, executive, judicial.
Political power
Political power is the real possibility of a group or individuals to determine their will based on the interests and needs in this area.
It has a number of features.
- The legality of the use of methods of pressure within the state.
- Supremacy along with other types of power. It is able to limit the influence of large corporations, the media and other structures.
- Publicity. Political power, unlike private power, appeals to the citizens of the state on behalf of the whole society.
- The presence of one decision-making center.
- Variety of resources. Political power uses not only pressure, but also economic, social and spiritual-informational methods of pressure (achieving goals).
- Legality. It acts as a kind of justification for the use of methods of pressure and restriction of freedom.
State power is a form of political power.
Government
State power is the possibility and ability of a group, relying on a special apparatus, to extend its dominance to the entire population.
The following characteristics and features can be distinguished:
- Public and political power governs different social groups.
- Sovereign. In the field of state affairs, it has supremacy and independence in relation to other types of power.
- It is carried out on an ongoing basis with the help of a special apparatus.
- It has the monopoly right to use methods of pressure on the territory of the state.
- Applies to all individuals and legal entities in the country.
- Publishes normative-legal acts.
Signs of state power
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is engaged in the analysis of cases related to compliance with the main law of the state. He can also resolve disputes arising between power structures and problems related to the violation of the rights and freedoms of people.
Courts of general jurisdiction decide civil, criminal and administrative cases. Arbitration structures deal with economic disputes.
conclusions
Thus, in Russia, as in other democratic states, power is divided into three branches. Executive functions are performed by the Government and the President. Legislative power is in the hands Federal Assembly. The judiciary is carried out by three types of relevant structures.