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 tradition or custom. The main reason for the given state of affairs is that it 'has always been that way'. Look up Leadership in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An organization or organisation (read more about -ize vs -ise) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ... Look up Regime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The word tradition comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ...

Traditional authority in Sociology

In sociology, the concept of traditional authority (domination) comes from Max Weber's tripartite classification of authority, the other two forms being charismatic authority and rational-legal 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. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other persons named Max Weber, see Max Weber (disambiguation). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Jesus is considered by historians such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader; The sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic authority as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained... 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. ... Ideal type, also known as pure type, or idealtyp (in the original German), is a typological term invented by sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920). ...

In traditional authority, the legitimacy of the authority comes from tradition; in charismatic authority from the personality and leadership qualities of the individual; and in rational-legal authority from powers that are bureaucratically and legally attached to certain positions. The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules are socially organized. ...

Patriarchs and their households

Weber derives the traditional domination from patriarchs and their households - in other words, from the ancient tradition of family (the authority of a master over his household). The master is designated in accordance with the rules of inheritance. He has no administrative staff nor any machinery to enforce his will by force alone; he depends on the willingness of the group members to respect his authority. Those members stand in personal relations to him. They obey him based on the belief that this is their duty sanctioned by immemorial tradition and on feeling of filial piety for the person of the master. For other senses, see Patriarch (disambiguation). ... A family in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Piety is a desire and willingness to perform spiritual, often ascetic rituals. ...

Patrimonalism

Patrimonal government can be described as an extension of the ruler's household where all of the governmental offices originate from the household administration of the ruler, and all the population is - in theory - personal dependents of the master. Their relations still are depended on the basis of paternal authority and filial dependence. A patriarch (from Greek: patria means father; arché means rule, beginning, origin) is a male head of an extended family exercising autocratic authority, or, by extension, a member of the ruling class or government of a society controlled by senior men. ...

However, with the growth of the territory certain patriarchs controlled, the need for organised and more independent administrative staff and military force became greater as well. With forced increased decentralisation some individuals gain more rights (for example, the right to inheritance and marriage without the consent of the rulers, to be judged by independent courts instead of officials of the royal household, etc.). Decentralisation (American: decentralization) is any of various means of more widely distributing decision-making to bring it closer to the point of service or action. ...

Military force is one of the important instruments of a patrimonial rule. Weber distinguished five types of military organisations. In all of those cases the forces remain the personal instruments of the ruler (he is responsible for their equipment, maintenance and revenue).

Another instrument of a patrimonial rule is the patrimonial administration. The officials are usually the favourites of the ruler, appointed by him. The ruler treats all political administration as his personal affair, empowers them from case to case, assigns specific tasks, etc. It is very rare to discover any clear and constant system of hierarchy, power and responsibility in the deluge of official titles of most patrimonial administrations.

The officials treat their administrative work as a personal service based on their duty of obedience and respect to the master. Their rights are privileges granted and withdrawn by the ruler. They can treat subject population just as the ruler treats them, as long as they maintain the tradition and interests of the ruler.

One of the best examples of almost pure type of patrimonalism is Ancient Egypt, where the population was entirely dependent upon the coordinated control of the waterways (Nile River). This facilitated the creation of centralised government, and the lengthy period of time the men were free from work on the fields meant that population could and was extensively employed in forced-labor projects. When the royal household required it, any rights of any individual were waived and he was forced to perform the public duties. Thus the whole country was one vast patriarchal household of the pharaoh. Ideal type, also know as pure type, or idealtyp (in the original German), is an typological term invented by sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920). ... Khafres Pyramid (4th dynasty) and Great Sphinx of Giza (c. ... There is also Nile, a death metal band from South Carolina, USA. The Nile in Egypt Length 6 695 km Elevation of the source 1 134 m Average discharge 2 830 m³/s Area watershed 3 400 000 km² Origin Africa Mouth the Mediterranean Basin countries Uganda - Sudan - Egypt The... A centralized government is a form of government in which power is concentrated in a central authority to which local governments are subject. ... Pharaoh was the ancient Egyptian name for the office of kingship. ...

It is interesting to note that when land is given to military or officials for the performance of their duties, their independence increases and the power of the ruler weakens (consider the Mameluks and their rebellions, or the difference between Chinese Confucian literati who were never able to overthrow the power of the emperor and European knights who evolved into powerful aristocracy in many cases vastly limiting the power of the kings (especially in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth)). An Ottoman Mamluk, from 1810 Mamluks (or Mameluks) (the Arabic word usually translates as owned, singular: مملوك plural: مماليك) comprised slave soldiers used by the Muslim Caliphs and the Ottoman Empire, and who on more than one occasion seized power for... Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ... An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, and speculate on a variety of different ideas. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... This article is about the continent. ... A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... The Ancient Greek term aristocracy originally meant a system of government with rule by the best. The word is derived from two words, aristos meaning the best and kratein to rule. Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies (see below), where a sense of historical gravitas and noblesse oblige demands... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Patrimonial dominance has often prevailed in the Orient, where land remained in the control of the patrimonial ruler. However, in the Occident large estates have been out of the control of the ruler, and thus according to Weber this was one of the major reasons patrimonalism has been replaced by feudalism. The term the Orient - literally meaning sunrise, east - is traditionally used to refer to Near, Middle, and Far Eastern countries. ... Occident has a number of meanings. ...

Feudalism

Feudalism when compared to patrimonalism, has one major similarity and several important differences. Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ...

The similarity is that both are based on tradition and have powerful rulers who grant rights in return for military and administrative services.

The differences are important for the subtler distinction:

• feudalism replaces the paternal relationship of patrimonalism by a contractually fixed fealty on the basis of knightly militarism.
• the patrimonial ruler's grants of authority of liturgical obligations of political subjects and the personal dependence of patrimonial official are replaced in feudalism by the contractual freedom, personal fealty and social and economic prominence on the part of the vassals.

Traditional leaders

Most of the representatives of any dynasty ruling for more than one generation (kings, emperors, etc.) would fall into that category. Thus majority monarchies and some autocracies, oligarchies and theocracies would be ruled by traditional leaders. // For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation). ... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A monarchy, from the Greek μονος, one, and αρχειν, to rule, is a form of government that has a monarch as head of state. ... An Autocracy is a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Often male head of a common family should be considered a traditional leader. This could also be the case in a family-owned business, if its director and other leader positions are chosen based on family ties and/or age.

See also

• The three types of legitimate rule book by Max Weber
• Pre-industrial society

The Three Types of Legitimate Rule is a book written by Max Weber, a German economist and sociologist. ... Pre-industrial society refers to specific social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Capitalism. ...

External links

• South Africa: traditional leaders