Soc 316/Erin Powers/Summer 09
July 16 Lecture Notes
Recap
Our course began by exploring internal sources of social order
Meaning
Values
Norms are more of an external source of social order, since they require enforcement.
To this end, coercion (force) may be seen as natural extension of norms theories of order.
Today we consider Power & Authority theories.
Hobbes/Leviathan (illustration useful—see explanation):
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-leviathan1651-abraham-bosse-32and-thomas-hobbes-1626563.html
Micro-level assumptions:
Rational egoism: Men are cognitive, self-interested beings
All men (roughly) equal in body and mind, which produces “equality of hope in the attaining
of our ends.”
All men seek to avoid death and injury & have “restless desire for power”
“the object of mans desire; is not to enjoy once oncely; and for one instant of time; but
to assure for ever; the way of His future desire. And therefore the voluntary actions, and
inclinations of all men tend not only to the procuring; but also the assuring of a
contented life. Man will not be content with moderate power; because He cannot assure
the power and means to live without the acquisition of more.”
Hobbes’ defense of his motivational assumptions
“It may seem … my words?” (p. 94)
3 causes of conflict
Competition makes men fight for gain
Diffidence [distrust/antipathy] makes men fight for security
Glory makes men fight for reputation
These conditions produce a constant struggle for power over others
Implications
“State of nature” = war of all against all in which men use all means (incl. force & fraud) to
attain ends.
"And therefore if any two men desire the same thing; which nevertheless they cannot
both enjoy; they become enemies, and in the way to their End endeavor to destroy, or
subdue one another“
Note macro-level assumption of zero-sum resources
The state of nature
“For WAR, consisteth not in battle only, or the act of fighting; but in a tract of time,
wherein the will to contend by battle is sufficiently known: and therefore the notion of
time, is to be considered in the nature of war; as it is in the nature of weather. For as the
nature of foul weather, lieth not in a shower or two of rain; but in an inclination thereto
of many days together: so the nature of war, consisteth not in actual fighting; but in the
1
Soc 316/Erin Powers/Summer 09
July 16 Lecture Notes
known disposition thereto, during all the time there is no assurance to the contrary. All
other time is PEACE.” (93)
Consequences of "state of nature"
Drive for power and self-preservation justifies any means necessary
People insecure, live in constant fear of injury and death
No industry, education, trade, culture
“The life of man is Solitary, Poore, nasty brutish and short”
Summary of problem of social order
Rational egoism  competition & war
Fear of death and desire for "commodi
Men must transfer their sovereignty to a sovereign with monopoly on use of force
“Covenants, without the Sword, are but Words, and of no strength to secure a man at all.”
Personal liberty traded for peace/survival
Critique
What guarantees this beneficial outcome?
Hobbes posits a (Third) Law of Nature -- “That men perform their covenants made”
Is this conclusion logically consistent with its premises (rational egoism/instrumental
rationality)?
Can the Third Law of Nature be reconciled with his behavioral assumptions?
Engels on the state
Engels, like Hobbes, views state as necessary for social order, but sees different role:
State creates social order by regulating conflict between competing classes
Assumptions
Historical materialism (remember Marx reading: productive activities determine
consciousness)
Classes defined by their relation to the means of production
How state produces social order
By and large the state represents interests of the ruling class
Mechanism: coercion + ideology
Critique of Coercive (Power) Theories of Social Order
Rational egoism undoes Hobbes’ social order
For Engels, if state is “the executive committee” of the ruling class, why doesn’t lower class
revolt?
Norms arguably play hidden role for both theories. Durkheim’s "precontractual basis of
social solidarity" or an underlying feeling of trust among people that gives them faith that
others will obey contracts.
COERCION enormously expensive (solution: authority)
2
Soc 316/Erin Powers/Summer 09
July 16 Lecture Notes
Weber’s contributions
concept of legitimacy
Explicitly (i.e., unlike Hobbes) introduces norms into power theories
Identifies 3 types of social order
Legitimacy  Voluntary Compliance
people must have an interest in obeying
so leaders cultivate belief in legitimacy
Weber on legitimate orders (LOs)
LO simply means a type of social order that is based upon legitimacy (i.e., extracts voluntary
compliance)
LOs must attain staff & subject compliance
administrative staff must govern subjects
3 “ideal types” of social order
Patrimonial (Traditional)
Rests on the belief in the sanctity of traditions, and the legitimacy of the rulers selected
thereby
Rational-Legal (Bureaucratic)
Rests on belief in legality of enacted rules, and the right of those elevated in authority under
such rules to issue commands
Charismatic
Rests on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of an
individual person
Charismatic order
No fixed rules
Leaders make own rules (often said to come from HP)
Not dependent on continuous source of income
Wealth not pursued in a methodical manner
Regards as undignified all rational economic conduct
Master/disciples must be free of worldly attachments
Followers not materially compensated, but often share in the donations leader receives
(leader must provide sustenance for followers)
Basis: value rationality
Patrimonial order
Rests on sanctity of age-old rules/practices
Masters chosen according to these rules, obeyed because of their traditional status
Motivational basis
Personal loyalty and self-interest
when resistance occurs, directed against the master personally, not against the system as
such.
3
Soc 316/Erin Powers/Summer 09
July 16 Lecture Notes
Recruitment in Patrimonial Order
People recruited to staff either via
Traditional ties of loyalty
Kinsmen, slaves, dependents, clients, etc
Example: Saddam Hussein recruited from Tikrit
Voluntarily
People willingly enter into loyalty to leader
Staff compensated:
By living from lord’s table
land for services
appropriation of rent, fees, or taxes
Rational-Legal Order
Based on rule of law
Abstract rules applied to all specified cases
Office holders also subject to laws
Obedience owed to order, not individual
Business conducted accd’g to formal rules
Hierarchy
Duties delimited
technical qualifications (by exam/experience)
can’t buy offices (staff paid fixed salary)
Characteristics of bureaucracy
Career bureaucrats
Officials accountable to superiors
Codification & Routinization
Rights of individuals protected
Procedural justice: right to appeal decisions
The rationale of bureaucracy
“Experience tends universally to show that the purely bureaucratic administrative
organization is capable of attaining the highest degree of efficiency and is in this sense
formally the most rational known means of exercising authority over human beings. It is
superior to any other form in precision, in stability, in the stringency of its discipline, and in
its reliability. It thus makes possible a particularly high degree of calculability of results for
the heads of the organization and for those acting in relation to it. it is finally superior both in
intensive efficiency and in the scope of its operations, and is formally capable of application
to all kinds of administrative tasks.”
Trend toward Rationality
“The development of modern forms of organization in all fields is nothing less than the
development and continual spread of bureaucratic administration”
Bureaucracy: prevails because it is the most efficient means of administration
Advantages of bureaucracy
Takes advantage of the division of labor
4
Soc 316/Erin Powers/Summer 09
July 16 Lecture Notes
more precise, objective, fast administration
Individual accountability
Superiors grade performance of subordinates
Promotion contingent on good performance
Contributes to social leveling
not who you know but what you know
High stability
Disadvantages of bureaucracy
Concentrates power in hands of few
Slow to adapt to environmental changes
Discourages individualism, creativity, and risk-taking
A key question
If bureaucracy so efficient, why not found everywhere & always?
Answer: bureaucracy has preconditions not met until modern era:
moderate literacy rate
monetary economy
private property
Legal uniformity throughout territory
Modern accounting/communications tech
Why Patrimonialism Persists?
Instrumentally rational leader without modern technology will find patrimonialism superior
for recruiting, motivating, monitoring staff
For Tuesday:
Bring a pencil and scantron for Exam One! The exam consists of 30 multiple choice
questions, which should take one minute each. You may take up to an hour to complete the
exam. It will be administered by a proctor from 10:50-11:50 sharp.
5