Political Power and Social Order: Concepts and Historical Forms

Origin of Political Power

The origin of political power addresses the question: How did it arise? It is a matter of fact, related to history, and can be investigated independently of the state's legitimacy.

Nietzsche's Perspective on Origin

Nietzsche suggested that political power originated from "a horde of blonde beasts, an animal race of conquerors and lords, organized for war, and endowed with the power to organize, placed without any qualms about their terrible claws upon a population."

Legitimacy of Political Power

Legitimacy answers the question: Are there good reasons to accept its existence? This is a question of right, often studied in philosophy. It corresponds to what can be established regardless of its origin.

Locke's View on Political Society

John Locke stated: "Whenever a number of men united in society, giving everyone the power to execute the natural law, ceding it to the community, then and only then it constitutes a political or civil society."

Forms of Social Organization

Different forms of societal organization include:

• Tribal Communities: Small, structured from family ties, with a subsistence economy.
• Slave-Owning Communities: Numerous, based on slavery.
• Feudal Communities: Larger, structured around feudal lords, military commanders, and political figures.
• Modern Society: Supports the development of industry and trade.

The Modern State

The modern state seeks to monopolize coercive power within its own territory. Its key features include:

• It is a political institution.
• It is impersonal.
• It has a unitary, sovereign structure.

Domain power and legitimacy are intertwined. Legitimation is the acceptance of the right of rulers to impose their will, based on how power was acquired.

Rules of the Social Order

The rules of coexistence and their classifications are:

• Moral Standards: All rules that have a universal requirement character.
• Laws: Established by authorities within the political community and aimed at all residents of the territory.
• Social Customs (Uses): Social customs that do not have the status of moral norms nor the legal obligation of laws.

Justice, Legality, and Social Validity

• When we ask whether a law is just or unjust, we are asking a moral question.
• If we ask whether a particular rule is legal or illegal, we are faced with the question of legal validity or legality.
• When we consider whether a social norm is in force, we are referring to the social efficiency it entails.

Arguments for the Existence of Political Power

Legitimate arguments for the existence of political power include:

• Theological Type: Political power exists because divinity willed it.
• Naturalist Type: Political power is a necessity for the human species.
• Functionalist Type: Political power exists because it is useful and beneficial for its members to have a political authority.

Historical Legitimation of Political Power

Classification of Political Systems

Types of Domination and Administrative Organization