UNDERSTANDING

CULTURE,
SOCIETY,
AND POLITICS
 Political
Organizations
 Bands and tribes are considered
the simplest political systems. They are
often perceived without a well-defined
system of leadership.

A band is usually small, formed

by several families living together;
oftentimes moving from one place to
the other to search for food. Bands are
egalitarian, meaning, all families are
equal.
There is no class differentiation based
on wealth; however, status differences
based on gender and age are well-
defined. There is no formal leadership,
instead, those who possess special
skills and knowledge can be raised to
become the informal leader.
 As the population of bands
increases, the tendency of conflict also
increases. The conflict leads to “band
fissioning” or band splitting. Some leave
the band to form their own group (social
velocity). The band that survives
fissioning and social velocity eventually
becomes a tribe.
 A tribe (tribu) is more complex and
larger than a band. As the population
increases, there is a shift from a basic form of
livelihood to multiple ways of living. A tribe is
organized through pantribal associations in
the form of councils, tribal leaders, elders, etc.
due to the presence of multiple communities
in a tribe. Tribes are commonly headed by a
village headman who performs leadership
roles but has limited political power. Most
tribes remain egalitarian.
State and Nations
 The advent of modernity has made
the process of consolidating different
individuals into one political community
more difficult and complicated. Out of the
breakdown of political organizations, what
emerged was the presence of groups of
people that shared a common history,
language, traditions, customs, habits, and
ethnicity. These groups are collectively
referred to as nations.
 On the other hand, a state is a
political unit consisting of a
government that has sovereignty
presiding over a group of people and a
well-defined territory and has the
highest form of political organization.
Political Legitimacy and Authority

The task of organizing a political

community requires the existence of
leaders. Leaders, in order to be effective,
need to possess authority that is
considered legitimate by the community.
 Authority in Relation to Legitimacy

Authority is the right to command.

Authority is observed when an individual has a
command to make a person do things. Such an
act is a response to that person’s perceived
power. This person can be your boss, your
superiors, or those who hold high positions in
society. For example, public officials are
elected by the people and granted the rights to
regulate and exercise administrative functions
based on the existing laws of the land.
 Authority is more than power.
Authority is guaranteed by legitimacy in a
formal manner. What makes authority
binding and worthy of obedience is its
legitimacy. Legitimacy gives form to the
authority. Legitimacy is a “value whereby
something or someone is recognized and
accepted as right and proper. For
authority to be binding and stable, it must
be legitimate.
Weber’s Three (3) Types of Authority

According to the sociologist Max

Weber, there is a category as to how
authority is legitimated as a belief system.
These are traditional, charismatic, and
legal-rational.
REFERENCES:

1. San Juan, W. and Centeno, M.L.

(2017). Understanding Culture, Society
and Politics Books atbp.Publishing
Corp.Mandaluyong City
2. Self-Learning Material, Department of
Education – SOCCSKSARGEN Region
3. Department of Education PIVOT
Learner’s Material