We explain the differences between power and authority, examples, the origin of each term and what they have in common.
What is the difference between power and authority?
When we talk about power and authority we are referring, in general, to different forms of leadership that is, to make others do what is asked of them, or what is proposed to them. However, both terms refer to very different ways of doing it.
The term power comes from Latin poterewhich is the historical precursor of our own verb “power”, and which logically translates into the ability to make something happen, either directly or indirectly. Seen this way, to have power is to have the ability to launch an action or an event.
It is a term used even in scientific areas, but in its social and political dimension, refers to the possibility of occupying positions of authority or orchestrating social processes political and even economic that shape society in one way or another. The powerful, then, are those who launch certain actions in society.
On the other hand, the term authority comes from the Latin auctoritesderived from auctor (“author”), and this term in turn from the verb augere (“promote”, “increase”, “progress”). Seen this way, A person who creates, promotes, incites or conducts something has authority inciting natural compliance in others.
In fact, we call “authorities” the people who occupy positions of power, that is, the people who in one way or another have been designated as leaders within some organization or in the State.
Thus, as we have seen, power and authority are closely related terms, so much so that one appears in the definition of the other. But at the same time they are different: power is something transitory which is judged based on the possibility of making something happen (or not happen); while authority has some form of investiture, formality or influence thanks to which others obey.
Let's explain this better through an example: imagine a group of soldiers who impose themselves on a town and forcibly force people to obey their commands, that is, hurting those who oppose them. But as soon as they are neglected, the residents rebel and take away their weapons and control, putting the old mayor who governed it before the invaders arrived in charge of the town.
In this story, the military unquestionably has power: they exercise it brutally, through force, and while they possess it, they force others to recognize their authority. But as soon as they lose power, when the people rebel and disarm them, they also lose their authority, and no one pays attention to them.
On the other hand, the former mayor initially has no power, but clearly the people consider him a man with authority, because as soon as they get rid of the military, they grant him the authority, that is, the voice of command, and with She has the power to decide, among other things, what they will now do with the military who previously subjected them.
The differences between power and authority can be summarized as follows:
| Can | Authority |
|---|---|
| It is a capacity: a person has or does not have power, that is, they can or cannot make something happen. | It is an ability to make others follow one's instructions, either by conviction or by submission to the social order that is considered endorsed. |
| It can be exerted through any means or mechanism, including brute force. | It consists of others' recognition of one's leadership, and therefore voluntary submission to their decisions or instructions. |
| You may be able to subdue others, but not necessarily the acceptance of said subordination. | It has the voluntary subordination of others, due to the recognition of its own leadership. |
| It does not require laws, institutions or social agreements. | It does require laws, institutions and social agreements. |
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References
- “Power (social and political)” on Wikipedia.
- “Authority” on Wikipedia.
- “Etymology of Power” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
- “Etymology of Authority” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
- “The differences between power and authority” (video) at CENTRUM PUCP (Peru).
- “Two words: authority or power?” by Iván Orestes Gómez at Business School CEIPA.
