Morality of Political Leaders

Paper Summary:

The topic examined in this dissertation is that people who exercise power and control tend to be operating at the lowest stages of moral development. Specifically, the focus of the dissertation is on low-level exercisers of power, political officials or activists who serve in positions on city councils, community boards or organizational boards. The paper includes a comprehensive review of the literature on the subject as well.

Contents:
Contents of a Literature Review
Power and Control Theory
The Power-Elite Theory and the Pluralist Model
Legitimate Exercise of Power, Control and Authority
Theories of Moral Development
Positive Exercise of Power
References

From the Paper:

"Generally, sociologists suggest that two alternative models of identifying how power and control in American society have been proposed. Power, as defined by Weber (1946) is the probability of realizing one's goals even against the opposition of others. At the societal level, from a functional perspective, power is the ability to govern and maintain order within the group. From the conflict perspective, power is typically analyzed in terms of the capacity of a social class to realize its objectives (Hess, Markson, & Stein, 1989). Power is a crucial aspect of relationships between people and among groups, often studied within the context of authority."

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