ABSTRACT
The relationship between 'authors' and 'authorities', then, is one of permanent tension, a ceaseless struggle between emergent influences and established power. The concept of authority is strangely elusive, being apt to escape the mesh of legalistic and philosophical definitions. To call it 'legitimate power' may satisfy the politician and the sociologist, but immediately raises questions regarding the ways in which that power is made legitimate. In transitional periods such as the one we are going through, conflict between institutionalized authority – the Establishment, as it is commonly called – and the up-and-coming claimants for control of the new order inevitably gives rise to battle of wills and wits. The leadership ceases to circulate from member to member, individuals are relegated to the role of cogs in the machine and outlets for 'authors' have to be sought outside the institutional framework.
