The social research of C. Wright Mills is focused on power elites, the extent of power they hold within social institutions, use and abuse of obtained power and its effect on social lives of individuals or society. However, power is the most important and critical element for conflict theorist to analyze society. Therefore, Mills social theories are also based on power. In order to elaborate and justify his social perspective, he explained the nature of power, distribution of power among individuals as well as social institutions, uses and abuses of power obtained by individuals and social organizations, the myths of power created by power elites of given society in the mind of general population and most importantly the forms of power.
He characterized three types of power these include, coercion, authority and manipulation.
Coercion
The first form of power is coercion or physical force which according to Mills is rarely required within modern societies or modern democratic countries. Coercion or physical force lie beneath the other two forms of powers (authority and manipulation). Physical force is used when authority and manipulation fail to achieve specific objective.
Authority
Mills characterized Authority as second type of power. This type of power which is attached to position individuals hold within social institutions or society and justified by the social norms. As such type of power is granted and protected by formal rules therefore, general population have obey and accept it.
Manipulation
Mills argues that, Manipulation is the final form of power. This type of power is used by power elites to control powerless without their conscious knowledge. Manipulation is preferred form of power within modern societies because it is based on sophisticated methods of science and technology.
Mills say that, authority is the primary source of control within modern societies or democratic countries. Authority of power elites and social institutions need legitimization in order to gain the loyalties of general public or powerless within modern societies. When coercive and authoritative power becomes ineffective to justify legitimization of authority it is replace by manipulation.
Written by; Khushdil Khan Kasi.