6.+The+Principal+of+Legitimacy+by+Haley



The purpose of the principle of legitimacy is to define what kind of authority people would follow. According to Gladwell, legitimate authority is based on three characteristics, “ The people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice ... The law has to be predictable,” and “The authority has to be fair,” (Saroff). The principle of legitimacy is meant to apply to governments but it can be applied to other forms of power and authority too. Even children won’t listen to their guardians if they don’t trust their power. Bonnie Harris, a parenting specialist counselor, says, “ Guidance and leadership does not mean engaging in power struggles to prove our rightness and put down their arguments. It does not mean...making them feel miserable and thinking that will motivate them to do better, “ (Harris). Basically no one trusts the rule or power of someone who is unnecessarily harsh and unlistening. People give their allegiance to governments because they feel it will protect them and look after their best interest but when they don’t care about the interests of an individual they begin to distrust or resent them. Such governments lead to things such as the american revolution.
 * Aim**:

The definition of the principle of legitimacy has changed through time depending on who used it. Though the ideas behind the principle have change the principle of legitimacy has always been used to apply to political power. Initially the term was used by monarchies to justify their absolutism and hopefully avoid the “ advancement of the liberalism.” (//pares.mcu.es//). The hereditary leaders of the time used the principle of legitimacy to claim the had the legitimate right to rule because of the years monarchies had been in power. However, the principle of legitimacy has changed over time. Malcom Gladwell says legitimacy is defined by three characteristics “ The people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice ... The law has to be predictable,” and “The authority has to be fair,” (Saroff). Over time the political atmosphere in Europe has change from monarchies to democracies and the definition of the Principle of Legitimacy has changed as well. Historically, the principle of legitimacy was used to justifies why someone has the right to rule but now it describes what kind of authorities people are willing to follow. This just shows that the audience and users of a term as well as their culture have an impact on the meaning of the words.
 * Audience**:

The Principle of Legitimacy as defined by Malcolm Gladwell is a verbalization of one of the United State’s most crucial cultural beliefs about authority. According to Gladwell, legitimate authority is based on three characteristics, “ The people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice ... The law has to be predictable,” and “The authority has to be fair,” (Saroff). The first immigrants living in what is now the United States wrote the Declaration of Independence where they declared every man posses the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and “ whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, ” ( US 1776 ). They defied the British monarch who ruled over them because he treated them unfairly and refused to give them representation or a voice in the government (US 1776). This belief is still widely held within the U.S. today and is what many American’s would call a defining characteristic of our culture and it’s influence can be seen in such holidays as Independence Day which celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
 * Cultural**:

Malcolm Gladwell uses the phrase “The Principle of Legitimacy” to define how authority should be, in a rather democratic fashion (Saroff), but the phrase was historically used to justify absolutism. After the French revolution, under Napoleon’s rule, a form of democracy had been established. At the Congress of Vienna, in the years 1814 and 1815, rulers that had lost land to Napoleon met to establish relationships between the European Nations. Using the principle of legitimacy the hereditary rulers that had been disposed during Napoleon’s reign were restored to their thrones with absolute power. They used the principle of legitimacy to justify their absolutism claiming they had a legitimate right to rule according to the system that they had followed for all those years. A major point in the discussion at the Congress of Vienna was this absolutism and the defence of this ideal. However, the people of these smaller countries were given no choice in the new borders that were drawn up or in the new governments that were established. So, revolutions sprung up in 1818 and the 1820s as well as several additional meetings where these rulers discussed how ”to avoid the advancement of the liberalism.” (//pares.mcu.es//). Yet, Malcolm Gladwell’s definition of the Principles of Legitimacy were proven right as there are no longer absolute monarchies in Europe but rather liberalism abounds.
 * Historical**:

__Works Cited__

Declaration of Independence. 1776. Saroff, John. Blog post. “Malcolm Gladwell on the Principles of Legitimacy”. // johnsaroff.com //. Tumblr. 11 October 2013. Web. 30 March 2015. “The Vienna Congress (1814-1815)”.//pares.mcu.es//. Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. Web. 31 March 2015. Harris, Bonnie. “Trust Your Children More; Teach Them Less”. // bonnieharris.com //. 8 February 2013. Web. 31 April 2015.