PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Power, Authority & Legitimacy
Legitimacy adds positive value to political authority and obligation. Discuss.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
R1 Legitimacy = rightfulness.. transforms naked power into rightful authority.. this transformation is the positive value (to authority + obligation) R2 Power merely obeyed vs power accepted as right → legitimacy turns the first into the second → strengthens both ruler’s authority and citizens’ obligation
Body flow
Value to authority: fear-based power # authority -. Authority = Power + Legitimacy -~. Weber's three types (rule becomes accepted) → state's monopoly stable only if treated as rightful → Arendt (no legitimacy → coercion → cannot last) → legitimacy lowers cost of rule → value to obligation: duty to obey → ground shifts from fear/punishment to "just & fair" → Rousseau (strength → right, obedience → duty) → Locke (consent + life /liberty/property; failure dissolves obligation).. Hobbes (obey to escape insecurity; disorder weakens both) → condition; Beetham (rules + shared beliefs + consent)
Counter-view
Radical tradition: is the value truly positive? → Gramsci (will for state manufactured via hegemony, not spontaneous) — Habermas (process of legitimation matters; consent manufactured via party systems, welfare) → legitimacy may stabilise without justifying
Conclusion routes
R1 Yes, positive value: power -. durable authority, fear → duty, obedience voluntary R2 Value genuine only with real consent -. manufactured legitimacy secures rule without securing justice
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
