Power and Legitimacy in Democratic States
Power and Legitimacy
The Legitimacy of State Power
The need to establish mechanisms for legitimizing power is crucial to understanding why citizens respect laws and submit to the State. Authority implies the right to exercise power, and when this right is recognized, power is considered legitimized. According to Max Weber, there are three forms of power legitimation:
Traditional Legitimacy
This form appeals to tradition to justify the power exercised by certain families or dynasties. It’s based on hereditary
Read MoreThe Impact of Early Labor Movements on Educational Systems
The Rise of the Labor Movement and its Impact on Education
The Emergence of the Proletariat and Early Labor Struggles
The Industrial Revolution and the dismantling of the Old Regime brought about significant economic, political, and social changes, leading to the rise of the proletariat. This new working class faced deplorable living and working conditions, sparking various forms of resistance in the early 19th century. These included machine destruction, the formation of resistance societies and
Read MoreHistorical Materialism and Social Production
Historical Materialism: Critique of Political Economy
Anatomy of Civil Society
Civil society forms the basic framework of economic activities. A systematic study of social relations reveals how civilian goods are produced and distributed. The social body, distinct from the state, decides societal matters and holds legal power.
Social Production of Life
Production encompasses any human activity that fulfills needs. Humans are defined by what they produce. Production involves how individuals produce
Read MoreUnderstanding Society: Definitions, Structures, and Principles
General Notion of Society
The field of social anthropology studies the social and cultural activities of humans in society. A society can be defined as a set of individuals of both sexes and all ages, forming more or less permanent aggregates, subject to a common civilization. However, this definition is considered inadequate by Guy Rocher, who, like Durkheim before him in Rules of the Sociological Method (1985), argues that a society is not merely a sum of individuals united by a contract or understanding.
Read MoreEvolution of Family Structures in Modern Western Societies
The Transformation of Family Structures
Historically, societal institutions have gradually become less reliant on kinship networks. This shift, accelerating in the mid-19th century with Western modernization, stems from several factors:
Market Development and the State
- Separation of work and home
- Diminished importance of family assets
- Rapid social change and urbanization
- Shift from extended kinship networks to nuclear families focused on consumption and parenting
Demographic Shifts
- Increased life expectancy
Marxism: Origins, Core Ideas, and Critique of Capitalism
Karl Marx
Sources of Marxism
Marxism is not solely defined by the works of Marx, but also by his collaboration with Engels and the intellectual trends of their time.
Hegelian Left
Marx, while not a direct student of Hegel, was influenced by the Hegelian Left at the University of Berlin. Key figures included Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872), who bridged Hegelian idealism and Marx’s thought. Feuerbach emphasized a materialist turn in philosophy and the concept of alienation in religion. He critiqued Hegelian
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