Legitimacy and Influence of Institutions
Modern secular governments establish their legitimacy initially through reason by the drafting of a constitution. Once legitimacy is established the government expands its influence through the recruitment of military force and taxation. The structure of local governments is similar by having a state constitution, a police force and further taxation. The ability for people to elect government officials provides a way for the structure to remain legitimate in the minds of the majority of voters. Ensuring legitimacy is vital for maintaining influence.
For a religious institution legitimacy is maintained by the declaration that the church is called by God. In this structure God plays the role of the unquestioned authority and any person or organization which associates with God automatically earns legitimacy. History is filled with nations using God to maintain the legitimacy of their government, whether by a state religion or through the “divine right of kings”.
The establishment of the corporation allows for a leaner institution whose legitimacy is maintained by its ability to provide a service and make a profit. Money is both the way the corporation provides influence and the way legitimacy is created.
These types of institutions could be arranged by how resistant they are to change. Religious institutions are the oldest and the hardest to change. While sacred texts do change, they often take hundreds or thousands of years. Government law on the other hand can change within the scope of a single generation. Corporations being the most nimble of the three can change several times in a single generation through means such as acquisition, layoffs and perhaps more vitally failure. The corporate landscape creates an economic Darwinism where companies are able to compete, grow and die. Often when companies fail the technology does not disappear but is able to be reassembled in a new company which provides a very rapid form of change.
In summary and to grossly over simply these institutions, it could be argued that the Church maintains its legitimacy through faith and emotion while having the ability to influence through volunteerism and by accepting a tithe. Governments maintain their legitimacy through reason, law and public participation in the form of the vote or political demonstrations. Governments maintain their influence through force and taxation. Corporations maintain their legitimacy through their ability to influence, requiring only money to stay in business.
I find it interesting to imagine the evolution of these institutions over time and take note that the more “evolved” institutions are the ones which are able to change. Having the ability to change allows humanity to better meet the challenges we face. If we are to witness a fourth type of organization which is able to evolve faster than a corporation it may be the rise of the freelancer. Technologies such as software development and 3D printing may well pave the way for individuals to add as much value that would at one time require a sizable corporation.
To further speculate, the progress of Christianity from the authority of the pope toward the written word may have helped pave the way for modern secular democracies whose legitimacy is embedded in mutable law. I imagine the change from Roman law to human authority via Christianity helped undermine the Roman empire’s ability to respond to an ever changing world.
