Three sources of authority and related social issues

Authority and Social Structure

Chapter 11 Three Journal Prompts

The three sources of authority include traditional authority, rational-legal authority, and charismatic authority. First, traditional authority is legitimized by the purity of tradition and the capacity and right to rule is bequeathed through inheritance. This sort of authority does not vary in time, does not enable social adjustment, and has a tendency to be unfounded and unpredictable (Spencer, 1970). Second, charismatic authority is obtained in a leader whose mission and vision encompasses inspiration of others. This source of authority is centered on the apparent amazing individualities of a person. Such a leader is deemed to have celestial powers. A good example of this sort of authority is religious authority. On the other hand, legal-rational authority is enabled by a formalistic conviction in the perspective of rationality or law. A good example of this sort of authority is economic or political authority (Spencer, 1970).

2. People are turned into terrorists as they largely manipulate their psychology through the process of radicalization. One of the ways of reducing radicalization is raising awareness. It is imperative for people to know understand precisely what they are bound to face in order for them to set up obstacles. This will enable the young individuals not to engage or take part in the radicalization process in the first place. Interventions can be used to wean away youth that has been radicalized. These activities will enable the individuals to detach as well as disengage from their perspectives and views mentally and therefore not leading up to any sort of terrorist actions. This is a process of trying to win them back from the thoughts and ideas that have already been fed to them. Counseling is another activity that can be employed to reduce the process of radicalization, and this ought to encompass not only the individuals but also be extended to their loved one such as family (Horgan, 2008).

3. Child labor and exploitation is hardly experienced in developing nations. There are ways in which such wealthier nations can aid in the alleviation of suffering of the child workers in economically weaker nations. One of these ways is through economic development. Through this, poorer nations will be able to raise the incomes generated by families and in turn the living standards of the families. Another ways is through enabling the poorer nations in establishing and implementing anti-child labor laws. By setting up stringent laws that are enforceable, will enable the poorer nations to decrease any instances of child labor and exploration. In addition, more often than not, child labor and exploitation that instigates child labor usually goes on due to lack of awareness of understanding. Therefore, wealthier nations can help in eradicating this social evil by facilitating in comprehensive, economical, necessitated and pertinent education. Through these actions, parents as well as law enforcements will be more aware of what is permissible and what ought not to be allowed with respect to child workers (Rafferty, 2013).

4. There are three essential conditions of war. These include an aggressive circumstance in which two or more states challenge incompatible objectives, cultural decision of war, and a particularly inflammatory cause that heats up the situation to a peaking point. In particular, there are 7 different fuels that can be found in a war. These fuels include power, revenge, unity, prestige, ethnicity, position, and beliefs. This can be linked to a war in which the United States is linked with. The war by the United States on Iraq was linked to the fight against religious terrorism as they harbored Al-Qaeda. The cultural decision for war is tied to the aspect that the United States had taken part in war. With respect to fuels, the United States wanted to avenge the September 11 attacks on the nation. In addition, the beliefs of the nation are different from those of the terrorists in Iraq. Another aspect of the fuel is to bring peace and unity in the world to evade any form of attacks. In addition, through this war, the United States was able to maintain its position, status and prestige as the superpower of the world (Burg, 1996).

Chapters 4 & 13 Three Journal Prompts

1. If I had been reared in an Amish family, my ideas, attitudes and behaviors would be different. One of these ways would be the aspect of rejecting and denying myself worldly concerns. There are values that I like about Amish people. One different attitude and belief lies in the sense that I would believe that self-defense is wrong even when I am being personally attacked. This is due to the fact that one of the key Amish values is that violence is bad. Another aspect would be being largely dissimilar from the dominant culture that most people are used to. For instance, the Amish have the belief of caring for all individuals, even those who have harmed and done wrong to you. One of the beliefs that I dislike is that of failure to seek help from others. Being Amish, the main value is to ensure that one is drawn in to the secular world. Therefore, I would have a preference of working on the farm and even failing to take government assistance when facing economic and financial difficulties (Scott, 2012).

2. Stereotypes have a deep influence on how individuals interact with one another in the society. These characteristics have an impact on not only those being stereotyped but also those stereotyping. As for those being stereotypes, they end up perceiving themselves as outcasts within the society. For instance, stereotyped ladies that do not conform to ideal body shapes tend to have a negative outlook. This prompts women to go for days without eating in order to have the ideal body shape. On the other hand, these characteristics impact those who do the stereotyping in that it makes them feel empowered. However, deep down, they also consider themselves not to be good enough. This can be perceived with respect to race-ethnicity. For instance, black people in the contemporary are constantly being stereotyped through racism. This makes them feel like they are outcasts and inferior compared to other races and ethnicities in the United States. On the other hand, the individuals undertaking racism instigate a sense of feeling superior and more dominant (Kotter-Gruhn and Hess, 2012).

3. I think that the main objective of community colleges should be to train students for jobs. It is imperative to consider community colleges as centers and facilities of educational opportunities for students rather than a pave way for leading them to universities. This is beneficial to the society and economy of the nation as a whole. Transitioning students from community college to the university simply limits the workforce that is necessitated within the economy. What is more, this limits the potential of such students as they have to undergo a greater number of years in the school system before they can apply the skills that have been learnt. In addition, similar to universities, individuals that enroll in community colleges are high school graduates, who deserve a similar educational opportunity as the other students that are admitted and enrolled in the universities (Hamilton, 2012).

4. I believe that in order to understand life, it is imperative to have knowledge of both, microsociology and macrosociology. This can be analyzed in the instance of a student getting debarred, evicted or rusticated from college. Microsociology encompasses the interactions that are of small scale such as those with individuals or a group. For instance, a child that is debarred from school can be through harmful interactions with other students or being involved in groups that undertake mischievous activities. On the other hand, with respect to macro-sociology, a child can be kicked out of school as a result of change in their life aspect, for instance in their home and family setting. Another influence of such a situation can be due to social instability around the student\'s settings.