Power, Authority, and Force as Aspects of the Life of Individual - Essay Example

?Power, ity and Force are Distinct A teacher enters a room full of young minds; some eager to learn, and others waiting for recess or eventhe time to go back home. Some young children are extremely restless and shift their books around while others, calm and waiting to hear what the teacher has to say, remain in their places with their books wide open. At that moment, the teacher is the authority in the classroom; whatever he or she says will be the word and would have to be obeyed by each and every student otherwise the child will have to face the consequences. At the same time, the teacher wields power, however he cannot force a child to do his homework or run some errands if the child does not want to - thus, the distinction between power, authority and force. Power, authority and force are three different aspects of an individual’s or society’s life. In a country, it is the government that is the sole authority and has the power to make decisions for the social welfare and wellbeing of the people. However, despite such power, the government cannot force or impose rules upon people if they do not wish to follow them and thus, there has to be some room left for liberal thinking or allowing the will of the people to persist. Power thus is the ability to get work done because of leadership skills; it is the capacity that a person may have in order to perform some work or carry out an action in an effective manner. Authority on the other hand is the supremacy or command that a person or a body has, to make decisions. Finally, force is the manner in which a person may impose upon another or coerce another in order to do something or carry out an action. In this manner, these three terms are distinct and will be discussed with various examples during the course of this essay. (Merriam Webster Dictionary) All over the world, all the time, there are various examples of these three terms being combined and used in the same situation; where there is authority, there is power being wielded because only an authority on some matter has not only the full right but also the ability to exercise something; and sometimes, this exercising of power by an authority might turn out to be forceful upon a group of people that do not wish to follow it. Power is the ability to influence the outcome of events. It could be both correctly as well as incorrectly used and the incorrect use of power would lead to coercion or force upon people. Authority on the other hand is a very subjective term because it is bestowed upon people that seemingly do well in their respective fields; people who may be deemed fit in order to carry out a certain task. (Jovial Bard) For example, the president of the country is rightfully elected as the authority to carry out certain powers but they are not forced or imposed upon people. However, in some cases, like in countries where there are monarchs or countries like China that are completely republican in nature, the power wielded by the authority is forced upon the individuals and they have no choice but to follow the same. There are various views on this very subject; taking into account the reign of Saddam Hussein, the despotic leader, it may be understood that he assumed authority without commanding respect for the same. Thus, in the eyes of the rest of the world, especially the United States of America, he was deemed to be an illegitimate leader, who just assumed an authoritarian position. He had access to weapons of mass destruction which he threatened people all over the world with and thus this was an application of force on his part because of the high power that he held as the president of a country, as he imposed fear among the citizens and led them to a very terrifying and horrific way of life. (Bowen, D) Over the years, nonetheless, the power that the United States has over the rest of the world has been growing; especially because after the 9/11 attacks, the entire world held sympathy for the country and thus supported it with all their might. However, as the US has been intervening in the Middle East more and more, countries like Britain state that it holds no authority, but is merely trying to impose (or force) ‘power’ on the Middle East in order to keep them in check from the wretched terrorism that is being countered upon the world. The question stands, where did the US get the authority to do this? Only because it has a high level of military resources, does not mean it has the authority to wield power. The US has taken it upon itself to defeat the growing levels of terrorism all over the world; it has assumed authority over this matter, and is trying to adopt a consensus from different countries, especially the Middle East in order to help cater to this issue. But it needs to understand that without the support and goodwill of other nations around the world and without their combined authority and power, it will not be able to get far; because no country wants to be under someone else’s influence or power, especially if the same is by force. (Porterville College) President Bush, during his reign, tried his best to build Iraq in a manner that the people would be able to live a substantial life and with the help of education and health amenities, the rampant terrorism would decrease to a great extent. However, the US had no authority to try and ‘force’ Iraq to form a democracy. After all, it is up to the country to decide what it best for its self. Whatever happens within Iraq remains its own problem and no one else’s unless it asks for support from other nations. The elected or assumed authoritarian body in the country would come to power and tell its people what to do and what not to do. If the people hesitate against the instructions, then it is upto them to not let the body force them into following a particular lifestyle. They need their own opportunity to realise what is best for them without someone else imposing an idea or a belief onto them. When a child is born, the parents are the authority in his life; they have created the child and thus have the sole responsibility as well as the power in order to determine the way of life he will have. However, as the child grows up into a teenager and then ventures into adult hood, the stronghold of the parents onto the child decreases to a great extent. This is because as the child begins to think for himself, the parents have a lesser power over him and cannot force their thoughts on him. They need to let him make his own decisions regarding his education, career and future, and just need to be there to support him. He becomes his own authority, his own power and his own force. However, when he needs help to make decisions or when he feels the power to do something is very overwhelming, he can still go back to his parents to take their advice and they will be ready to support him during this time of need. A country works in much the same manner, except there is a body at the centre adjudging the way of life of all the citizens and helping them out in need. It cannot thus force something upon the people, except it can simply tell them what to do and following or not following that is up to them, however, of course, everything has its consequences, whether negative or positive. (Earlham Sociology) Power, authority and force, are thus distinct aspects of life because they are three different terms used in tandem with one another; without authority there is no power, and without power, there is no ability to use force. Sometimes force needs to be used upon people in order to make them understand a better way of life which is suitable to a larger majority; for example countering crime and terrorism which hurts the sentiments of others and leads to the loss of life. When a person commits a crime, he needs to be forced to follow instructions as well as punished for his wrongdoings no matter which way of life he might choose. Even in a professional environment, there is an authority on top which wields power and ‘forces’, in a positive manner, the individual employees to complete their job the consequences of which are getting fired. Thus in one’s personal life as well as the life of a society, the best possible authority needs to be chosen which will wield power in a rightful manner, enough to rightfully impose upon the people a good way of life, in order to achieve the best possible goals and objectives, from a personal as well as societal point of view. References Bowen, D. (2003) Power vs. Authority. Brigham Young University Magazine. Earlham Sociology (2012) The State, Power and Authority. [online] Available at: www.earlhamsociologypages.co.uk/statepowerauth.doc [Accessed: 15 April 2012]. Jovial Bard (2012) Authority and Power. [online] Available at: http://www.jovialbard.com/Design/Government/AuthorityAndPower.html [Accessed: 15 April 2012]. Merriam Webster Dictionary (2012) Power, Authority, Force, Definitions. [online] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/power [Accessed: 15 April 2012]. Porterville College (2012) Politics: Power and Authority. [online] Available at: http://www.portervillecollege.edu/jkeele/Poli%20Sci%20101%20Power%20Point/Politics%20power%20and%20authority.ppt. [Accessed: 15 April 2012]. Read More