Three types of legit authority. Max Weber 1. legal-rational 2. tradition (primative past) 3. charismatic person (all humans will die)

Three types of legit authority.

#1. legal-rational (all in 21st. century, written codes, laws, written laws for all to see.)

#2 tradition (feudal past)

(feudal past. primative past, queens in UK, kings in thailand, figure-head power.

No power of any kind)

#3. charismatic authority (short-lived, all humans do and will die. human-life is 50-80 years old)

Max Weber divided legitimate authority into three types:

• The first type discussed by Weber is Rational-legal authority. It is that form of authority which depends for its legitimacy on formal rules and established laws of the state, which are usually written down and are often very complex. The power of the rational legal authority is mentioned in the constitution. Modern societies depend on legal-rational authority. Government officials are the best example of this form of authority, which is prevalent all over the world.

• The second type of authority is Traditional authority, which derives from long-established customs, habits and social structures. When power passes from one generation to another, then it is known as traditional authority. The right of hereditary monarchs to rule furnishes an obvious example. The Tudor dynasty in England and the ruling families of Mewar, in Rajasthan (India) are some examples of traditional authority.

• The third form of authority is Charismatic authority. Here, the charisma of the individual or the leader plays an important role. Charismatic authority is that authority which is derived from "the gift of grace" or when the leader claims that his authority is derived from a "higher power" (e.g. God or natural law or rights) or "inspiration", that is superior to both the validity of traditional and rational-legal authority and followers accept this and are willing to follow this higher or inspired authority, in the place of the authority that they have hitherto been following. Examples in this regard can be NT Rama Rao, a matinee idol, who went on to become one of the most powerful Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh.