So we also want to talk a little bit about another one of Max Weber's important contributions to sociology. And that's the idea of types of authority. Now recall that he did his work on large political institutions over time, historically.
And so he made some observations about how authority presented itself. in different types of societies. And he came up with these three types of authority.
Now we can think of these in terms of being ideal types. We could make a list of the perfect traditional leader, the perfect charismatic leader, the perfect rational legal leader. So we need to know a little bit about what each of these concepts meant in order to make a list of the perfect attributes of each one of these types of authority. So let's start off with traditional authority.
Now I want to make a clarification here. A lot of times you'll see these listed in a sort of hierarchical or linear order. order, that is to say, you'll see them listed from the earliest in time to the latest in time, the most recent. And you see them listed as charismatic, traditional, and then rational legal.
I'm listing them this way because I do feel that the charismatic leader has a lot to do with what's going on today with the rational legal type of authority we have. So let's look at traditional authority first. All right, so traditional authority, we can think of this in the West and contemporary society also with regard to the notion of patriarchy. We do things in this type of authority situation because we've always done them this way. We don't question this type of authority because it's oftentimes handed down to us from past generations.
And so this type of authority is given its legitimacy. by custom, and by tradition. In other words, if you're a parent, you will probably note that many of your parenting skills and attributes are similar to those of your own parents. I find every day that the older I get, the more similar I become to my mother. I find myself saying some of the same things, rationalizing behavior the same way.
I don't question it. it, you know, in the back of my mind I go, oh heck, there's my mom again. But we do it this way, under the rule of traditional authority, because that's the way it's always been done.
And we just don't question whether or not it's right or legitimate. We can think about traditional authority in terms of the kings who used to rule over peasants. We can think about this sort of stage as pre-industrial.
when society was hinged more on forcing people to adhere to a strict set of rules and using that traditional authority to make society function. Now charismatic authority is quite different than traditional authority, although there is a link between the two. We can't really find a clear-cut sort of definition that separates the two.
we worship these types of leaders and there can be good or bad charisma. I don't think you can have both at the same time. However, we give these types of leaders their legitimacy because we believe in their ability to reveal the truth of social life to us. We also believe in their magical powers and we do what they want us to do. do because we want to please them, we want to appease them.
And we have example after example after example of charismatic leadership or charismatic authority over time. In good instances, Jesus was a charismatic leader. Mother Teresa was a charismatic authority.
If we look at what's going on in the world today, we could say Desmond Tutu, Bishop Tutu, is a charismatically leader. And so we can also, however, find just as many bad examples of charisma. Hitler is an example of a bad or negative charismatic authority. Jim Jones is another example.
Cult leaders in general have a lot of charisma. They are Charismatic authorities that people want to follow and want to believe. And so, for many people, they never question some of the things that these type of leaders tell them to do.
do it because they are so enamored and so caught up with that person's charisma and personality that they never question whether or not what they're doing is right or wrong. This is a very very dangerous type of authority because we don't take the time to rationalize whether or not what we're doing, what that charismatic leader told us to do, is good or positive for us or for other members of society. All right, now the last type of authority that Weber identifies is rational legal authority. And we can think about this one more in terms of contemporary society today. These are our elected leaders.
We put them where they are, and their status then as elected officials allows them to rule us. And so when we elect them, we anchor their legitimacy. We tell them by giving them that vote that we are willing to go along with their interpretation of how we should exist as a group.
This is central. to the rational society, which is what we call our society today. Whether it is or isn't is another story, but we call our society a rational society and we have to have rational legal authority.
Rational leaders whose work is backed up by law. We do what these leaders ask us to do because we put them there. We accept them as our leader. and we're willing then to follow whatever they ask us to do. Now, as I said, charismatic leaders are also, in my opinion, very closely tied to rational legal leaders.
I do think that in today's contemporary media-savvy world, where a lot of what we understand is given to us in picture form, that you have to have a certain level of charisma. order for people to accept you as a rational legal leader. And we can again see examples of how charisma plays just by looking at our contemporary political world. We have to have leaders who are photogenic, who can make a good sound bite, who are pleasant to look at, and if we don't have that then we question their ability as a leader. So I do tend to think While there are still some attributes of traditional authority in our society, that charismatic leadership is very, very closely tied to rational legal authority.
Alright, I hope this helps you understand Max Weber's types of authority. We'll talk again soon. Take care.