Throughout the history of mankind, people with a strong will, as if gifted over with a certain charisma, have decided the fate of other people, countries, the world, established their own order and power, and many of them even after death still continue to influence socio-political life.
Types of power
Considering the concept of "power" as a general sociological category, it is customary to distinguish three types of management. This is legal (legal rational), traditional, charismatic power. In science, they are called ideal types. Such a division was once proposed by the famous German sociologist and historian M. Weber. It should be noted that charismatic leaders often have two sociological characteristics: for the most part they are people from the periphery, and sometimes even citizens of another state, and in almost a hundred percent of cases they come to power not by legal means, but through usurpation or as a result of critical circumstances.
Charismatic power as an ideal type
The charismatic power was defined by Max Weber as one of the ideal types. In his studies, he does not pay enough attention to how this or that leader becomes a ruler and remains him, preferring to explore more the relationship between citizens and leaders, that is, the so-called social factors.
Thus, M. Weber determines that traditional power is based on the fact that citizens automatically agree to this system precisely because of its existence. This means that people emotionally and often in spite of the effectiveness of the system continue to maintain the existing system. On the contrary, the rule of law, precisely because of its effectiveness, maintains citizens' faith in the rule of law, which gives people confidence in the justice of such a government.
Leader as the basis of charismatic power
Charismatic power is based solely on the leader’s abilities, and it often doesn’t matter if these are real or imaginary qualities. Weber in his works does not determine what exactly is meant by this concept. Regarding a charismatic personality, he implies that he is a kind of leader with supernatural and superhuman qualities or at least exceptional abilities and capabilities. Thus, religious leaders fall under the concept of charismatics, but the question of whether these leaders possessed real power remains open. The main characteristic of charismatic power according to Weber is the presence of an acute social crisis; in fact, the scientist does not consider that the leader’s popularity can arise without it.
Subsequent researchers significantly expanded the scope of the concept of “charisma”. If initially this concept was associated exclusively with a certain “divine gift”, then already in the works that the recognized charismatic leaders left behind themselves, the explanation of this phenomenon is not limited to a supernatural manifestation. The points of view on this issue are extremely different. For example, Marxist determinism connects the appearance of such people with the will of a society that requires change, rejecting the role of the individual himself. And vice versa, such an ideal charismatic leader as French President Charles de Gaulle fully supports the theory of the exceptional role of the individual in a given crisis period, as he writes directly in his book “At the Edge of a Sword”.
Characteristic of this type of power
The combination of distinctive properties as a characteristic of charismatic power is manifested in the following points:
- Extremely pronounced personality.
- Non-historicity, that is, a leader often does not adhere to any stereotypes, rules, or even laws that existed previously.
- The alienation of charismatic power from purely practical and everyday problems, in particular from the economy. The illegibility of methods in case of economic problems - often the charismatic authorities prefer not to collect taxes, but to take money, confiscate and expropriate them, trying to give these actions a legitimate look.
Signs
Signs of charismatic power will manifest themselves in the following form:
- The public sharing of ideas, future achievements and the support of the leader, followers combine personal plans with the activities of the organization.
- The optimism and high degree of enthusiasm of the supporters, each of which is actually trying to become a charismatic leader of the "lower order".
- The central place in any social relations is given to the leader. Thus, a feeling is created that the leader is everywhere and takes part in any social event.
Positive and negative moments of the establishment of charismatic power
Legitimacy, that is, the consent of citizens to such a government, arises as soon as a sufficiently large number of people are ready to become followers of their leader. There is no more personal form of government than the charismatic type of government. The power acquired by the leader surrounds him with a peculiar aura and helps him increasingly believe in his capabilities, which, in turn, attracts an increasing number of adherents. But the charismatic leader would not be so if he did not feel the needs of people.
It is leadership power, charismatic in nature, that gains serious importance in such conditions when a radical change or radical change in the environment is necessary, which is not suitable for this, is inert due to deep-rooted culture and traditions, and often stagnated for a long time. However, it is rather unstable due to the fact that the leader needs to consistently demonstrate his strength and exclusivity, manage and simultaneously solve more and more new tasks, and with great success. Otherwise, even from a single failure, a leader in the eyes of his followers may lose attractiveness, which means a loss of legitimacy.
In addition, this type of government has both positive aspects and disadvantages. The main negative parameter is the fact that power, charismatic in nature, is at the same time usurpation, moreover, it forces the ruler to delve into and solve almost all the everyday and even the smallest everyday issues of the state. However, if a leader can cope with these tasks, a serious positive effect arises from the fact that the government actually satisfies most of the public interests.
Charismatic Leader Characteristics
At least a charismatic should have a number of features that can be called basic:
- energy, that is, the ability to "radiate" and "charge" the energy of surrounding people;
- impressive colorful appearance, which implies attractiveness, not beauty (often leaders of this type have physical flaws);
- a high degree of independence primarily from the opinions of others;
- excellent public speaking skills;
- absolute and unshakable self-confidence and own actions.
