 | It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Max Weber, but this is disputed. (Discuss) | Rational-legal authority (also known as rational authority, legal authority, rational domination, legal domination) is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to legal rationality, legal legitimacy and bureaucracy. The majority of the modern states of the twentieth century are rational-legal authorities, according to those who use this form of classification. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Maximilian Weber (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern, antipositivistic study of sociology and public administration. ...
Leadership can refer both to the process of leading, and to those entities that do the leading. ...
In politics, authority generally refers to the ability to make laws, independent of the power to enforce them, or the ability to permit something. ...
An organization (U.S. spelling) or organisation (U.K. spelling) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ...
Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. ...
A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ...
Rational-legal authority in sociology
In sociology, the concept of rational-legal domination comes from Max Weber's tripartite classification of authority (one of several classifications of government, used by sociologists); the other two forms being traditional authority and charismatic authority. All of those three domination types represent an example of his ideal type concept. Weber noted that it in history those ideal types of domination are always found in combinations. Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ...
Maximilian Weber (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern, antipositivistic study of sociology and public administration. ...
Max Weber distinguished three ideal types of political leadership, domination and authority: charismatic domination (familial and religious), traditional domination (patriarchs, patrimonalism, feudalism) and legal domination (modern law and state, bureaucracy). ...
Sociology is the study of the social lives of humans, groups and societies. ...
Traditional authority (also known as traditional domination) is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to the tradition. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Max Weber. ...
Ideal type, also know as pure type, or idealtyp (in the original German), is an typological term invented by sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920). ...
In traditional authority, the legitimacy of the authority comes from tradition. Charismatic authority is legitimized by the personality and leadership qualities of the ruling individual. Finally, rational-legal authority derives its powers from the system of bureaucracy and legality. Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. ...
This article is about law in society. ...
Legal rationality and legitimacy In the modern state, people (and legal practitioners) attribute legitimacy to a legal order insofar as its laws have been enacted (this concept of legal authority and its legitmacy should be understood in the light of arguments of the natural law and legal positivism). The natural law or law of nature is a system of justice that exists independently of the positive law of a given political order. ...
Legal positivism is a school of thought in modern and contemporary jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ...
Weber defined legal order as a system where the rules are implemented and obeyed in the belief that they are legitimate because they conform with the statuses of a government that monopolizes their enactment and the legitimate use of physical force.
Emergence of the modern state Weber wrote that the distinctively rational characteristics of the state emerged from the patrimonial and feudal struggle for power that can be found only in Western civilisation. The prerequisites for the modern Western state are: For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ...
- monopolization by central authority of the means of domination and administration based on:
- * centrally directed and permanent system of taxation
- * centrally directed and permanent system of military force
- monopolization of legal enactments and the legitimate use of force by central authority
- organisation of a rationally oriented officialdom, whose exercise of administrative function is dependent upon the central authority
Weber argued that some of those attributes have existed in various time or places, but combined they have emerged only in the Occidental civilisation. The conditions that favoured this were: Occidental means generally western. It is a traditional designation (especially when capitalized) for anything belonging to the Occident or West — the western part of the classical world (Europe) and the New World, and especially of its society. ...
- emergence of legal rationality. Various status groups in the Occident promoted that emergence.
- emergence of modern officialdom (bureaucracy) which required
- * development of the money economy, where officials are compensated in money instead of kind (usually land grants)
- * quantitative and qualitative expansion of administative tasks
- * expansion on officialdom due to its centralisation and increased efficiency over past alternative methods of administration
Weber's belief that rational-legal authority did not exist in Imperial China has been heavily criticism, and does not have very many supporters in the early 21st century.
Modern state - bureaucracy and politics According to Weber a modern state exists where a political community possesses the following characteristics: - an administrative and legal order that is subject to change by legislation
- an administrative apparatus that conducts official business in accordance with legislative regulation
- binding authority over all persons (citizens) and most actions taking place in the area of its jurisdiction
- the legitimation to use force within this area if coercion is permitted or prescribed by the legally constituted government
An important attrubute of Weber's modern state definition was the fact that it is a bureaucracy - please see that article for the description of bureaucracy ideal type. Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. ...
Ideal type, also know as pure type, or idealtyp (in the original German), is an typological term invented by sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920). ...
Vast majority of the modern states from the 20th century onward fall under the rational-legal authority category.
Rational-legal leaders Majority of modern politicians represent this type of authority. A politician is an individual involved in politics. ...
Weber distinguished between bureaucratic officials and political leaders. A politician is an individual involved in politics. ...
An official must exercise his judgment and his skills, but his duty is to place these at the service of a higher authority; ultimately he is responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned tasks and must sacrifice his personal judgment if it runs counter to his official duties.
Other qualities of an official:
- he is personally free and appointed to his position on the basis of conduct
- he exercises the authority delegated to him in accordance with impersonal rules, and his loyalty is enlisted on behalf of the faithful execution of his official duties
- his appointment and job placement are dependent upon his technical qualifications
- his administrative work is a full-time occupation
- his work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career
A politician must demonstrate his capacity for independent action, for which he alone is responsible. Partisanship is important to him, he must reject the responsibility for public actions that conflict with his basic policy. He should have a charismatic appeal to win elections under conditions of universal suffrage. The word charisma (from the Greek word kharisma or gift), is often used to describe an ability to charm or influence people. ...
The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Representative democracy History of democracy Referenda Liberal democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Ideology Elections Elections by country Elections by calendar Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by...
Universal suffrage (also general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of suffrage, or the right to vote, to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief or social status. ...
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