THE CONCEPT OF THE POLITICAL AUTHORITY (Poniattia politychnoi instantsii)

The paper proposes a new approach to the concept of the political authority based on author's conception of meaning institutions (institutions du sens). Author's analysis starts from an exploration of conceptions of political authority in G. Simmel's and A. Kojeve's writings. Simmel's analysis conceptualizing the relation of authority as an interactive relation along the line of Hegel's dialectics of master and servant arrives to the following paradox: the status of ruling authority proper to a ruling person A depends on the activity of the ruled person B. A. Kojeve solves this paradox noticing that the obedience of B to A's orders is a voluntary obedience. But this solution leads to Kojeve's paradox: now the authority must completely reside on both (the ruler A and the ruled person B). P. Wintch's idea considering the relation of authority as internal relation is proposed as a way out. According to the autho, two individuals have the same notion of authority due to the participation in the same social practices ('meaning institutions'). Hence the notion of political authority is essentially social notion.