A mob has the power to punish a criminal by lynching; people who believe in the rule of law consider that only a court of law has the authority to punish a criminal legally as the law says. Authority refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to exercise that power.

Authority does not necessarily mean to have extrinsic elements; a father’s influence in a family is also called authority for being justifiable and acceptable. In a government, power changes into authority for having legal, traditional and religious bases. Therefore, authority is the truncated form of power and cannot surpass law, tradition, religion, etc.

In a monarchy, the divine right of kings establishes the political legitimacy of the rule of the monarch; legitimacy also derives from the popular perception such as tradition and custom, and acceptance of the monarch as the rightful ruler of nation and country. This sort of legitimacy is circled with a halo of sanctity. For example, when a king passed away in the past, his scion inherited the throne and people pledged allegiance to him respectfully and only the king’s heir deserved the throne of the deceased king – the “patriarchal system” was rife in the past and still seen in today’s world.

However, in a democracy, government legitimacy derives from the popular perception that the elected government abides by democratic principles in governing, and thus is legally accountable to its people.

A charismatic leader is also believed to gain legitimacy through extraordinary charm and divine attraction. A leader’s heroism, virtue and moral characters influence the populace and they would pledge allegiance wholeheartedly. History shows that the prophets’ (PBUH) charismatic personalities influenced the human societies and they ruled the hearts of people, thus they gained legitimacy through charisma.

There are many perceptions about policy. Based on realistic perception, policy is means for preserving law and order and preventing from chaos and disorder. However, the most paramount issue in this perception is protecting power. The main reason behind stressing justice, religion and moral principles is to avoid from jeopardizing power. Machiavelli believes that, for protecting power, a king must learn the characters of lion and fox (repressing and trickery) and applying force and violence is allowed to avoid from lawlessness.

Idealistic perception, however contradicts the realistic one. Base on this, policy and power are mean for higher ambitions such as public prosperity and justice rather than being the main objective. Plato believes that the goal of policy is to lead mankind to idealism. According to him, the restricted blessings such as power and wealth lead to conflicts which will ultimately establish despotic regime and oligarchy. But the unrestricted blessings such as recognizance, beauty and superiority will lead to utopia. Therefore, policy shares a strong tie with morality. An idealistic politician, as “philosopher king” will direct the society to justice and virtue. He favors the kingdom of middle class for, according to him, the kingdom of the rich will tend to luxury and physical comforts, and the regime of the poor will be void of justice and virtue. So, the middle class will choose the middle way which is close to the main objective of policy, namely justice and moral practices.

There is also a liberal perception of policy. According to this view, policy is the most significant tool for protecting the natural rights of the individuals and defending them against absolute political or religious powers. The first nation-states, which were established in Europe in the age of religious reformations, claimed full authority and sovereignty against the churches.

English philosopher John Locke wrote that all people are born with the inherent rights to life, liberty, and estate. These rights are not unlimited, Locke said, and may only be appropriated according to the fair share earned by the labor of each person. Gluttony and waste of individual liberty are not permitted, Locke argued, because “nothing is made by God for man to spoil or destroy.” Hence government has the responsibility to protect the citizens’ natural rights.

The Creator has endowed men with natural rights, which are inalienable and immutable. If government’s laws are enacted inconsistent with nature, reason or morality, people can protest against such laws. As a result, the Declaration of Independence allows men “to alter or to abolish” destructive governments – the same as Locke believes. Moreover, Cicero, a Roman orator, was the first who expressed his disagreement with statute which stands against natural law as he said that if the man-made law allows theft and adultery, it would be no more than the law of thieves and villains. Hence, government cannot deprive one of his life, liberty or property without any reason.

So, a democratic government derives its authority from nation through election and it is therefore accountable to protect the citizens’ dignity and rights irrespective of one’s race, color, sex and beliefs. After all, it is believed that the public will favor idealistic perception, especially in our society. Justice, ethical codes and virtue are the soul of a society which have to be gained through power and policy. In short, policy is an instrument for providing moral values, public prosperity and security rather than being an objective to be protected at the cost of using force and violence.