Political Legitimacy : Theoretical Adjustments
Table of Contents Position
was one of the first frameworks developed around 2006-7 for this TOP initiative. This final framework in the set, posted in 2009, was left incomplete probably because I felt out of touch with its nature. In any case, the Tree channels were never described or named.
With the theoretical developments in the Architecture Room and formulations for , the political picture re-emerged and the time seemed right to re-open the inquiry.
Rather than place this framework in the Frameworks in Development section where it strictly belongs, it seems more appropriate to leave it as part of the Politics satellite even if it incorporates later theoretical work.
Some implications are explained below.
Introducing Concepts & Adjusting Names
The remains the trajectory of political maturation because Politics is held to be the Primal Means in relation to the .
The fundamentals of this are that seek to within a .
The Primal Need in the is Governance without which community evolution would become chaotic.
This means that the Modes/Stages within the Spiral are probably better labeled (rather than Modes of Politics).
The Tree that emerges from the Spiral is now labeled: (rather than Determinants of Political Choices). From this perspective, it is possible that in this Tree is better labelled: Solutions for Society.
The Psychosocial Pressure in the is held to be Autonomy and the Structural Hierarchy that is developed from the Spiral-derived Tree is therefore formally named: (rather than Participation in Politics).
The Tree that emerges from a Spiral-derived Structural Hierarchy in the Primary Domains is a Controller of the Primal Means. The controller Tree is proposed to be: . The greater the legitimacy, the stronger the governance arrangements. The previous labeling of the framework as «» is consistent with this new label.
Legitimation and the Ruling Class
Governance in societies is largely under the control of a ruling class. As long that class and its methods are given legitimacy by the mass of the people, the government will stand.
As the ruling class invariably acts more in its own interests than in the interests of society-as-a-whole, there is an inescapable tension at all times. In other words, legitimacy is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon. It is a variable state with numerous determinants as specified in the Tree framework to be developed in this section.
- Now continue to the substance of this framework.
Originally posted: 15-Oct-2023.