The first structure of authority Ritzer examined of Weber’s theories is probably the one we are most comfortable giving in to, traditional. This can be anything from the customs we follow to people who hold rank over us socially, like teachers. A great example of how morals questioned traditional authority is seen in the well-known Milgram experiments of the 1960’s. The volunteers were told that they were helping Milgram study how people learn and needed to shock the learner in the other room every time they got a question wrong, increasing the voltage every time. We’ve know about this experiment for over 50 years and this experiment has been repeated many times and we still find that even with time people still morally struggled with the decision of whether or not to shock the learner and did so when the instructor gave them that little push absolving their blame in the name of science.
The next structure of authority Ritzer reviews is rational legal authority. With rational legal authority it is not always physically seen but we know how far the rules extend. For the most part we don’t break laws from fear of the consequences. Legal authority gets its power through that fear. We might not always agree with legal authority’s rules and regulations but we follow to avoid trouble. In the first link below you we see how far the power of legal authority can be. The clip from a popular show What Would You Do puts people in situations where their morals are tested to see if they do the right thing. They open by explaining what happened when a McDonald’s managers thought they were being instructed by a police officer to strip search an employee who was suspected of shop lifting and how far one manager went because the person on the phone told them to. The show then goes on to put the power of legal authority to the test.
An actor pretending to be a bounty hunter asks random people in the grocery store to help in recovering a baby from a shopper played by another actor. Most are hesitant at first but when he assures them that it is perfectly legal and flashes his fake badge, they are then willing to help him. As you watch this you’re thinking what would possess anyone to help a guy claiming to be a bounty hunter take a baby of all things away from a mother without any real proof of said crime. The host goes on to tell us of the 22 people they ran the experiment on only 1 asked for the proper authorities to prove his story but then agreed to help after some more persuasion and conditions. The badge carried a lot of power and people did not think twice because they had what they thought was the approval of an officer even though the entire time they were morally questioning if this was the right thing while being conflicted with the safety of the baby. The power he had was represented through his fake badge. Even though no one knew for sure whether it was authentic or if it belonged to him, once they saw it they no longer questioned his authority.
The last structure of authority Ritzier analyzes is charismatic authority. This is when the person has to build/gain their power through their follows. Charismatic authority followers can be seen in some instances like a cult because of how blinded and devoted the group can be to one person’s authority. Justin Bieber is a prime example of the charismatic authority. He possesses what his follower, also known as Beliebers, consider to be a talent unlike any other that causes them to act in ways that promote his power. Without his followers he would not have reached the height of fame that he has now making him a huge influence on mainly, but not limited to, teenage girls. To test the extent of power that Justin has on the teens the tv show Jimmy Kimmel Live sent a crew out to a concert he was having to ask some of his followers how they felt about breaking Justin news. In the second link we see that these facts were completely made up but regardless of what they were all of his Beliebers were confident that even though they might not have been right they trust his actions and reasoning behind his choices. The charismatic authority that Justin has influences the teens from what they wear to what they think causing them to go out and buy his music, posters, clothing, etc. making him thousands and further strengthening his hold of authority on them.
Structures of authority are everywhere in our society. Traditional, rational legal and charismatic are all forms of dominance that we at times don’t give a second thought to. What we as a society fail to do at times is question whether or not these structures of authority have our best interests. What many people failed to do was stick to their morals once they began to question what was being asked of them especially if blame has to be stripped away.
Please Watch Both Videos Before Class
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxfk973QQvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nTKWYvWW2U