Sociologists have been concerned about the exercise of power since the birth of the discipline in the 1800s. According to Max Weber, power is the ability to exercise one's will over others, even if they resist. There are three basic sources of power within any political system: force, influence, and authority. Weber identified a useful classification system for authority. Legitimate power based on traditional authority is conferred by custom and accepted practice. Power based on formally agreed upon and accepted rules, principles, and procedures of conduct is known as rational-legal authority. Charismatic authority refers to power made legitimate by a leader's exceptional personal or emotional appeal to his or her followers.

The industrial society grew out of the Industrial Revolution. The new, more global economy of the industrial age called for large-scale systems of power and authority. The term economic system refers to the social institution through which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed. Two basic types of economic systems distinguish contemporary industrial societies: capitalism and socialism. Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits. In practice, capitalist systems vary in the degree to which the government regulates private ownership and economic activity. Socialist theory was refined in the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Under socialism, the means of production and distribution in a society are collectively owned. Marx believed that socialism would eventually evolve into communism, an economic system under which all property is communally owned and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people's ability to produce. In practice, national economic systems combine elements of both capitalism and socialism. A mixed economy features elements of more than one economic system. An informal economy, where transfers of money, goods, or services take place but are not reported to the government, operates within the confines of the dominant macro economic system in many countries.

Economies continue to adapt. Various social movements have made the workforce more diverse. Technological innovation and globalization have led to deindustrialization, the systematic, widespread withdrawal of investment in basic aspects of productivity, such as factories and industry. Companies may relocate from northern regions to southern regions or outside the United States to benefit from lower wage rates. Downsizing refers to reductions in a company's workforce. Offshoring has transferred work to foreign contractors. The social costs of deindustrialization and downsizing include unemployment, underemployment, loss of spending power, and loss of family cohesion. A positive effect of global economic development has been the rise of microfinancing—lending small sums of money to the poor so they can work their way out of poverty.

The struggle for power and authority involves politics, which Harold Lasswell defined as "who gets what, when, and how." Politics takes place within the context of a political system. Government represents an institutionalized form of authority. There are a variety of forms. In a monarchy, government is headed by a single member of a royal family, usually a king or queen. In an oligarchy, a few individuals rule. A dictatorship is a government in which one person has nearly total power to make and enforce laws. Totalitarianism involves virtually complete government control and surveillance over all aspects of a society's social and political life. Democracy means government by the people. In a representative democracy, certain individuals are selected to speak for the people.

In the United States, people are becoming more apathetic in their participation in the political process. Studies reveal that only 8 percent of people in the United States belong to a political club or organization. Voters of all ages and races appear to be less enthusiastic than ever about elections. In the 2004 presidential election, only 64 percent of eligible voters did so. Political strength is lacking in marginalized groups, such as women and racial and ethnic minorities.

Karl Marx and sociologist C. Wright Mills argued that power rests in the hands of a few, both inside and outside government. Mills referred to the group of military, industrial, and government leaders who controlled the fate of the United States as the power elite. G. William Domhoff suggested that the elites of corporate communities and leaders of policy formation organizations are largely White male, upper-class groups that exercise a vast amount of power over other groups. Critics charge that power is more widely shared than the elite model of power relations contends. According to the pluralist model of power relations, many conflicting groups within the community have access to government, so that no single group is dominant.

Conflict is a central aspect of social relations. War is defined as conflict between organizations that possess trained combat forces equipped with deadly weapons. Terrorism is the use or threat of violence against random or symbolic targets in pursuit of political aims. Sociologists have considered peace to be both the absence of war and a proactive effort to develop cooperative relations among nations. Sociologists and other social scientists who draw on sociological theory and research have tried to identify conditions that deter war.