Authority and Power

Authority comes with power. Power is the ability to influence and it is something that people agree to follow. For example, If I can convince my friends to move in the same direction as I do, it means I am the one who have the power. Authority is something much more official. For example, if I were a manager of a one company, my subordinates had to follow my orders and so I was the one who had the authority. But in this case, there is more obligation than power for subordinates.

Generally people listen and respect the authorities because they feel that these individuals deserve respect. In a traffic, a person's relation with police officer can be good example of authority in daily life because a person who sees flashing red and blue lights of a police car, always stops his car without hesitation. This shows the authority of the police officer. Also police officer has a right to fine the person who drives too fast. In that situation the police officer uses his power on the driver who drives too fast. Of course this doesn't mean that people always have to follow the orders of authorities, this is just one example from daily life. In some cases people choose to protest against the orders of authorities.