Understanding Authority, Democracy, and the State

Posted on Feb 2, 2025 in Economic Sciences

Authority is the exercise of power over members of society. That authority is distributed through the “political function.” Authority is exercised through a set of institutions that we call the state. The state also possesses sovereignty, meaning no other institution rules over it. Sovereignty refers to the ability to exercise supreme authority independently of any other superior.

Forms of Government

  • Monarchy: Rule by one.
  • Oligarchy: Rule by a few, and always the same individuals.
  • Democracy: Rule by all.

Types of Authority

  • Charismatic Authority: The leader rules because they are able to seduce followers with their feats.
  • Traditional Authority: The leader rules because tradition dictates it.
  • Legal-Rational Authority: The leader rules because others democratically delegate the management of their interests to that person. It’s named as such because it adheres to rational laws.

Democracy and its Principles

Democracy is linked to two key ideas:

  1. The people are no longer subjects of a monarch but become citizens of a state.
  2. The various modes of thinking are expressed in the plurality of political parties.

Types of Democracy

  • Direct Democracy: All members of a community vote and decide on matters that affect them.
  • Representative Democracy: Members of the community elect representatives to negotiate and decide on their behalf.

Democracy is the form of political power in which sovereignty resides in each and every one of the people (popular sovereignty). The people express their authority by voting in a system where everyone has the right to vote (universal suffrage). This can be summarized as: Dignity -> Popular Sovereignty -> Universal Suffrage -> Democracy.

The Constitution and the State

The constitution is a fundamental law that sets out how the government functions, the rights of citizens, and the type of economy and society that the community desires. The state must recognize human rights and promote measures for their protection. This requirement is called “constitutional rights.” The state must establish measures to ensure:

  1. Recognition and protection of civil liberties: freedom of thought, expression, assembly, and association.
  2. Majority rule: The majority’s decision will determine political direction and the election of representatives.
  3. Respect for minorities: The decisions of the majority can never violate the rights of the minority.

The Division of Powers

The state has three powers that must be exercised independently:

  1. The legislative power is responsible for drafting legislation, a task primarily carried out by the Parliament.
  2. The executive power implements political, social, and economic development projects that incorporate the laws. This is the main task of the government. The government is also responsible for maintaining public order.
  3. The judiciary power is responsible for judging, carried out by judges and prosecutors.

This separation of powers has two advantages:

  1. It prevents the concentration of all powers in one institution.
  2. It prevents one branch of the state from interfering with other powers for its own benefit.

Flagrante delicto refers to a crime being executed or committed at that very moment. Parliament is the representative of national sovereignty. Therefore, the community enjoys parliamentary procedure, except in cases of flagrante delicto. A judge cannot detain or prosecute a member of Parliament without the consent of Parliament. Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who then chooses their ministers and establishes the executive workplace.

Social and Democratic State of Law

If a state meets all the requirements above and demonstrates a concern for social rights, we refer to it as a social and democratic state of law. There should be a variety of political views that citizens can offer to society, and this requires:

  • Different political parties with concrete proposals, who inform the public about them.
  • Independent media that are open to the public.

To guarantee the right to vote, electoral lists (censuses), ballots, polling stations, electoral committees, police, and electoral boards must be prepared and published. Representatives of popular sovereignty should have a venue to meet and discuss, namely Parliament, with offices to facilitate their work.