IB Philosophy 7.1.2 Forms of Government Notes

The Question of Legitimacy

1. As discussed in 7.1.1, the state claims authority over individuals and demands obedience. This topic asks a more specific question: what makes a government legitimate?
   1. Not all states govern in the same way, and different forms of government appeal to different sources of authority. The question of legitimacy is central to political philosophy because it determines whether citizens have a genuine obligation to obey.
2. Max Weber identified three ideal types of legitimate authority. Traditional authority rests on established customs and inherited status, as in hereditary monarchy.
   1. Charismatic authority derives from the exceptional personal qualities of a leader. Rational-legal authority is grounded in formal rules and procedures, as in modern bureaucratic democracies.
   2. Each type answers the question ‘Why should I obey?’ differently. Traditional authority says: because this is how things have always been done.
   3. Charismatic authority says: because this leader possesses extraordinary personal qualities. Rational-legal authority says: because the rules were established through accepted procedures.
   4. Weber argued that modern states increasingly rely on rational-legal authority, but that transitions between types are among the most significant events in political history.

Sovereignty and the Basis of Political Authority

1. The concept of sovereignty, the supreme authority within a territory, is closely tied to legitimacy. Jean Bodin argued in Six Books of the Commonwealth (1576) that sovereignty must be absolute and indivisible to prevent civil war.
   1. Bodin wrote during the French Wars of Religion, when competing Catholic and Protestant claims to authority were tearing France apart. His argument was a direct response to this chaos: if sovereignty can be divided or shared, rival factions will each claim a portion of it, making stable governance impossible.
   2. Only a single, supreme authority that stands above all other powers can hold the state together. Bodin’s concept shaped the development of the modern nation-state and remains relevant wherever questions arise about whether sovereignty can be shared (as in federal systems) or pooled (as in the European Union).
2. Thomas Hobbes shared this view, while John Locke insisted that sovereignty ultimately resides in the people.
3. Authority differs from mere power in that it involves a recognised right to command. A government may hold power through military force, but this does not make it legitimate.
4. Hannah Arendt argued that authority and violence are opposites: where authority exists, force is unnecessary. Where force is required, authority has already failed.

Expertise, Corruption, and Contemporary Legitimacy

1. When a teacher commands silence through respect for her knowledge and judgment, that is authority. When a prison guard commands silence through the threat of punishment, that is power.
   1. Arendt insists these are fundamentally different phenomena: authority requires recognition and consent, while power requires only the means of coercion. A government that relies solely on force has already lost its authority.
2. Plato argued in the Republic that the ideal state would be governed by philosopher-kings, rulers whose wisdom and virtue qualify them to exercise authority. His reasoning rests on an analogy: just as you would not let passengers vote on how to steer a ship but would entrust the task to a trained navigator, political governance requires specialised knowledge of justice and the good.
   1. This raises a tension between expertise and consent that recurs throughout democratic theory. Plato’s arguments are examined in detail in 10.8.2.
3. The relationship between power and corruption has been a persistent theme in political philosophy. Lord Acton’s famous dictum that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" captures a concern that runs from Plato’s Republic through to contemporary democratic theory.
4. The overarching questions of Unit 7 ask whether freedom and equality are compatible, and how laws are justified. Different forms of government answer these questions in starkly different ways, as the following sections will explore.
5. Contemporary political philosophy continues to debate whether legitimacy requires democratic consent or whether benevolent authoritarian governments can also be legitimate. This question has renewed urgency in a world where some non-democratic states deliver economic prosperity while some democracies struggle with dysfunction.

Democratic Forms of Government

1. The concept of democracy, from the Greek demos (people) and kratos (power), has evolved dramatically since its origins in fifth-century Athens. Athenian democracy was direct: citizens participated personally in legislative and judicial decision-making.
   1. Modern democracies are predominantly representative, with citizens electing officials to govern on their behalf.