Authority vs. Power: Political Philosophy and Human Nature

Authority and Power

Any state must be able to ensure that its laws are respected by the citizens. Without power, there is no authority.

Power is the ability to make things happen. It means getting people to do ones they would not otherwise do. This could be achieved by physical force, but more often knowledge is enough (of what power might do).

Nevertheless, power established by and relying exclusively on brute force can't last too long. When a political regime has to send tanks into the streets, it is usually the beginning of the end for them. The imposition of tyrannical force is not a safe prospect for the ruler in the long term.

The citizens need a positive reason for obeying. A sovereign who wants to last long usually offers people something to gain authority.

The word power refers to brute and is quite unilateral: one party imposes its will and the weaker party has no say in the matter. It is also the ability to influence someone to do something they would not have done.

The word authority has a more bilateral sense: there is a degree of mutual recognition between the ruler and the ruled.

Types of Authority

1. Rational-legal authority. Its legitimacy depends on formal rules and established laws of the state (written down and complex). Modern societies depend on rational-legal authority.
2. Traditional authority. It derives from long-established customs, habits and social structures. When power passes from one generation to another, it is known as traditional authority.
3. Charismatic authority. The charisma of the leader plays an important role. It is derived from the gift of the grace or when the leader claims that his authority is derived from a higher power or inspiration.

Why Do I Let Others Rule Me?

Power without authority rests on force alone, which is unlikely to serve in the long run.

Without government and political power, there would be no laws, and everyone would live under the law of the jungle.

The government would be the defender of the liberty and property of the citizens in a kind of social contract between the ruler and the ruled. The laws are allowed to diminish the absolute freedom of the citizen to ensure the liberty and security of all. Without them, we would return to the state of nature.

The social contract theory was proposed by Thomas Hobbes, the first great modern political philosopher.

In his greatest work, Leviathan, he imagines what life would be like in a state of nature where there are no laws and no central authority. His view is that life would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

In essays like Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau traces human social evolution from a primitive state of nature to modern society. The earliest humans possessed a natural disposition to compassion or pity, as long as differences in wealth and status among families were minimal. The first coming together in groups was accompanied by a fleeting golden age of human flourishing. The development of agriculture, metallurgy and private property led to economic inequality and conflict. Rousseau criticized Hobbes for asserting that since man has no idea of goodness he must be naturally wicked. Rousseau holds that uncorrupted morals prevail in the state of nature.

Political Philosophy and Theories About Human Nature

All political philosophies presuppose a theory of human nature. All have an idea of what humans are basically like.

Nevertheless, it is not easy to decide on general theories of human nature, whether one states that people are basically selfish and aggressive or altruistic and cooperative.

2.1 Human Motivations

Maslow's hierarchy presents the most fundamental level of needs at the bottom and the most sophisticated ones at the top. The basic ones must be met before the higher levels:

1. Physiological needs. The physiological requirements for human survival. If these are not met, the human body will fail. These are the most important and should be met first: air, water, food, clothing and shelter.
2. Safety needs. Safety and security needs include personal security, economic security or financial security, health and well-being.
3. Love and belonging. This level is interpersonal and involves feelings of belongingness. Humans need to love and be loved, and feel a sense of belonging and acceptance in social groups.
4. Esteem (desire to be accepted and valued by others). All humans have a need to be respected, a need to have self-esteem and self-respect.
   • Lower: need for respect from others (fame, status, recognition).
   • Higher: need for self-respect.
5. Self-actualization. Refers to what a person's full potential is and the realization of that potential, the desire to accomplish everything that one can to become the most that one can be.

2.2 Human Motivation and Political Theories

The different political philosophies include assumptions about human nature, and that includes human motivation.

Hobbes' political theory: in order to preserve a relatively peaceful life, we must enter into a social contract between the ruler and the ruled, where we give up our own natural rights to a mutually agreed upon sovereign. Far is the central source of psychological motivation, we fear the state.

According to Hobbes, it is fear that controls and protects individuals when living under the power of the state. So, as long as subjects remain fearful of the state, society can remain stable and flourish. Not everybody behaves the same way as Hobbes used to think. Self-actualized people tend to have other motivators, such as the quest for truth, justice, freedom, love…