How can charisma (Max Weber) be used as a political instrument?
… another). Functionalism was thus a less system-oriented theory than structural functionalism and more oriented towards the individual. It was also more open toward social change. The political leaders of Melanesian societies are characteristically ‘big men’, individuals who have acquired power because of their personal qualities and their personal achievement. There is a constant competition, a constant yearning for upward mobility between the men of the village to achieve the statues of ‘big man’. They aspire to make decisions on behalf of the village and wish to be respected and powerful – where influence, authority, and leadership in the secular affairs come from success in mobilizing and manipulating wealth. A Big Man’s objective to gain popular loyalty and enthusiasm comes from his charisma and his ability to make people obligated to him by contributing to their feasts, financing marriages, and otherwise investing his resources-in other words, redistributing (Polanyi, 1959) hi
