b. Concentration of Power and its Cause

b. Concentration of Power and its Cause

 

Despite political power being a product of cooperation and cohesion^[Ch.2.8], concentration of power generally occurs in all political regimes. Concentration of power means that power is concentrated in a minority of individuals.

 

         [Ch.3.405] Generally, power is concentrated in a few people. Especially, as the size (number of people) of an organization increases, the degree of power concentration also increases.

 

This can be referred to as "inequality of power" where the concentration of power is high, which is a very common phenomenon as pointed out by many scholars such as G. Mosca and V. Pareto. Therefore, power arises from the cooperation and cohesion of members, and although power is mutual and everyone has some degree of power, the point with the highest concentration of power is commonly referred to as "power".

 

Here, I should note not only the fact that power is concentrated in a small number of individuals within an organization, but also the correlation between the concentration of power and the size of the organization. For example, among Bedouin nomads prior to the emergence of Islam, the tribe leaders, known as "sayyids" or "sheikhs," had weak power that was limited to following the tribe's opinion, and they were unable to assign tasks or give punishment to the members of the tribe. This was due to the small size of the political organization. On the other hand, the political power of large states such as the United States and China is so powerful that individuals or most organizations feel powerless to resist it.

 

The phenomenon of power concentration in an organization is caused by four factors: ① the efficiency of cooperative relationships, ② the limits of cognitive scope in decision-making, ③ differences in individual abilities and tendencies, and ④ the operation of the 2nd law. Let me examine each factor in detail.