Sociology Now, Census Update

CHAPTER REVIEW 483

Chapter

Review

1.How do power and authority manifest in politics?

Politics is about power. Usually power is exercised

through authority; authority is situation specific. Weber

delineated three types of authority. Traditional author-

ity is stable through time, and people obey because they

always have. When traditional authority is challenged,

charismatic authority often emerges, when people obey

due to the personal characteristics of the leader. When

a group begins to create rules, legal-rational authority

ensues. This is kind of authority is viewed as impartial,

with rationally derived rules that people obey because

the authority is thought to be legitimate. Foucault argued

that power is always connected to knowledge and that

it is both repressive and creative at once.

2.What are the different political systems?Political sys-

tems are either authoritarian or democratic. In author-

itarian systems, power is vested on one person or a small

group of people. A dictatorship is a totalitarian politi-

cal authority that extends to all of social life. In contrast,

in a democracy, power is vested in the people. Democ-

racy can be participatory (which works in smaller

groups) or representative, which requires educated citi-

zens and a free press. Seventy percent of the world gov-

ernments are democracies. Some nations call themselves

a democracy but are actually full of corruption or ruled

by bureaucracies. Weber said bureaucracies are anta-

gonistic to democracy and lead to leadership by an

unelected elite. Additionally, inequality manifests in pol-

itics in many ways. The rich have more power than the

poor, corporations have more power than individuals,

and minorities are underrepresented among elected

government officials.

3.Describe the U.S. political system.The U.S. political sys-

tem is large, complex, and dominated by powerful,

organized, bureaucratic political parties. The modern

U.S. political system, which emerged after the Civil War,

is a two-party system. Democrats and Republicans have

different platforms. For example, Republicans favor

small government, while Democrats favor a more active

government. Americans are socialized into a particular

political party affiliation, and it becomes a marker of

group identity. Party affiliation is correlated strongly

with class, education, and gender. Americans are polar-

ized by party and, at the same time, exhibit extensive

voter apathy. Voters are also swayed by interest groups,

which have great influence on legislators and on the pub-

lic and often focus on a single issue.

4.How does political change happen?Social movements

are collective attempts to secure a common goal. They

may be global and tend to rely heavily on information

technology. Social movements vary by type of issue, by

level of organization, and by their persistence over time.

Political change also occurs through revolution, where

a political system is overthrown and replaced. When suc-

cessful, a revolution leads to a new political system.

When they are unsuccessful, revolutionaries are called

terrorists. Marx believed revolution stemmed from class

conflict. The functionalists believed it was irrational.

Other sociologists see it as just another type of social

movement. War develops from perceived threats, polit-

ical objectives, to divert attention, to achieve moral

objectives, or because there is no other choice.

5.How does politics manifest in everyday life?Politics

plays out in our everyday personal lives; we make polit-

ical statements with our personal actions. Everyday pol-

itics has a cumulative impact; it is an expression of

identity; it enhances solidarity and helps promote social

change. Civil society is the zone between home and

work. It’s declining due to several factors, including

increased personal mobility that leads to weaker ties,

mass communication that promotes global issues but

ignores or eliminates local issues, and increasingly busy

personal lives. Political activism is evolving into new

forms. Younger people are using the marketplace to

wield their power as consumers, and civic groups tend

to be more hands-on and more in support of an issue

rather than against it.

KeyTerms

Authoritarian political system (p. 460)
Authority (p. 457)
Bureaucracy (p. 465)
Charismatic authority (p. 458)

Civil society (p. 480)

Coup d’état (p. 476)

Democracy (p. 462)

Dictatorship (p. 461)

Government (p. 456)

Immiseration thesis (p. 475)

Interest groups (p. 471)

Illiberal democracies (p. 463)