The concept of "power" arose with the emergence of human society and accompanies the entire path of its development. This is an opportunity to lead the actions of other people, their activities. Sometimes power is the imposition of one's own will. It can be based on various methods, including authoritarianism, violence, democracy, provocations, etc. But no matter what power is based on, its essence does not change. It can be carried out with the approval of the social strata or in spite of their resistance.
Power is a necessary condition for the existence of any society, the functioning of production, the regulation of relations between people.
The types of power can be different. If we consider this phenomenon from the point of view of spheres of influence, we can distinguish political, informational, economic, spiritual.
Some political scientists believe that it more accurately reflects the features of power, its division into social, economic, spiritual-informational, compulsory.
Economic and social power are interconnected more closely than other components. If the first distributes material wealth, the second involves the division in society of statuses, privileges, places in the social structure. Today, many progressive states strive to democratize social power. For example, enterprise owners in many countries do not have the right to independently decide on wages to employees, their dismissal, demotion, etc. These social rights are governed by special acts, agreements that are followed by trade unions or similar bodies.
Spiritual and informational types of power are the management of people with the help of scientific knowledge and information. Knowledge is the basis of decision-making, legislative acts. With the help of the dissemination of information, an impact is made on society, people's consciousness. Through informational power, it is possible to create public opinion, objectively cover the activities of the government and address social issues, or you can manipulate people's minds. Conductors of spiritual and informational power are the media, schools, universities, educational organizations.
Coercive types of power are based on force. They involve physical abuse of dissidents.
Political power is a separate component that is very different from other types of power. First of all, any type of political power is dominant, and the decisions that this power makes are binding on everyone. She can restrict or even prohibit the activities of any power institutions, institutions, etc.
Political power uses the concept of “law” and addresses the people impersonally, publicly, from a legal point of view. The only one of all, it legally uses force or coercion against certain citizens.
Political power is monocentric, can take advantage of all cultural, informational, economic, and coercive resources.
Finally, the main element of political power, its obligatory component is state power.
Such a division into types of power is inconclusive. Depending on the chosen approach, scientists distinguish:
- By type of subject: state, family, army, administrative.
- By the breadth of distribution: mega-, macro-, meso-, micro-levels.
- By functions: legislative, executive, judicial.
- By the type of interaction “subject-object”: totalitarian, authoritarian, liberal, democratic.
- By the type of social base: a poly- or oligarchy, a dodger, a theo, partocracy or the power of a crowd — an ochlocracy.
- By the type of resources on which submission is based: normative, coercive, rewarding, expert, etc.