![](https://www.achieveriasclasses.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ppp.jpg)
UPSC SOCIOLOGY Syllabus :
Paper 1 – Chapter 6 – Politics and Society:
(a) Sociological theories of power
(b) Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups, and political parties.
(c) Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology.
(d) Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution.
- Power is the ability of individuals or groups to carry out their will even when opposed by others.
- It implies that those who hold power do so at the cost of others.
- Power refers to the ability or capacity to control others and it resides in an individual’s status or position in relation to the status and position of the other individuals.
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE OF POWER
- Functionalism suggests that societal power and structure is predicated on cooperation, interdependence, and shared goals or values.
- According to functionalism, the government has four main purposes: planning and directing society, meeting social needs, maintaining law and order, and managing international relations.
- Functionalists seek consensus and order in society.
MAX WEBER ON POWER
- Definition by Weber : “the ability of an individual or group to achieve their goals or aims when others are trying to prevent them from realising them.”
- This definition of power implies that those who hold power do so at the expense of others.
- If some hold power then others do not – CONSTANT-SUM CONCEPT OF POWER
TALCOTT PARSONS ON POWER
- Definition by Parsons : Power is not a matter of social coercion and domination but instead flows from a social system’s potential to coordinate human activity and resources in order to accomplish a goal.
- His view of power was developed from his general theory of nature of society.
- The amount of power is measured by the degree to which collective goals are realised. So greater the efficiency of social system for achieving the goal defined by its members, more the power exists in society – VARIABLE- SUM CONCEPT OF POWER.
It can be fairly inferred that the accumulation of power in the hands of a single entity is dangerous for the well-being of the society as a whole. It pushes the nation to autocracy and silences the voices of the commoners. Dispersion of power ensures a relatively equal society, having an equal say in the political and economic processes.