"In sociology, authority is the legitimate or socially approved power which one person or a group possesses and practices over another. The element of legitimacy is ...
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vital to the notion of authority and is the main means by which authority is distinguished from the more general concept of power.
Power can be exerted by the use of force or violence. Authority, by contrast, depends on the acceptance by subordinates of the right of those above them to give them orders or directives." - (en.wikipedia.org 26.01.2022)