Uzależnienie od władzy – refleksje kryminologiczne
Addiction to power – criminological reflections

Summary/Abstract: Contemporary sociological discussions concerning power are connected to a large extent from the perspective of aversion to all forms of totalitarianism, that is, non-legal, unlimited and irresponsible power. The basic tendencies are manifested in questions about how the sovereign society should create power, organize itself in the state, at the same time neither causing the paralysis of its institutions nor losing control over it. Power as a multi-faceted phenomenon is produced by the antinomy of the individual and group dimension of human existence, it exists in virtually all social structures. It is a social relationship and an institution, and its performance is usually accompanied by intense emotions. This is because power is functionally necessary as an attribute of every organization, and at the same time generates socially important dysfunctions, such as oligarchisation of organizational structures, alienation of political power, pathologies of power, including dependence on power. According to some authors, power should be understood as a symbolically generalized means of social communication. Captured from the perspective of communication processes, power reveals many analogies to money, truth or love.

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