The Three Types of Authority

The Three Types of Authority

Both anthropologists and sociologists have made use of Max Weber’s three types of authority. Together they reflect his central concern with the processes of rationalization and disenchantment which constitute the movement from traditional society to modernity. They are exemplars of Weber’s use of ideal types. (a) Traditional Authority. I obey King Rex III , because I obeyed his father Rex II, and my father and grandfather obeyed Rex I. I respect Rex III because he has ‘blue blood’. Perhaps I obey because I believe I will die painfully in a matter of weeks if I disrespect him (thiswas a reason given for obedience to the contemporary Obas of Benin City in Nigeria). More often than not, however, my obedience is unquestioning. King Rex belongs to a royal lineage and has been invested with the orbs and sceptres and the crown of his traditional authority. (b) Charismatic authority can be contrasted with and may alternate with and temporarily supplant traditional authority. More rarely it contrasts with the third type, rational-legal authority. The charismatic leader may inherit no ascribed position. Such leaders may emerge from the margins of society. They have no regalia, command no legions, but lead a body of disciples who are attracted to them by their personality, aura and their MESSAGE. Note that the word charisma is a Greek word which indicates the quality of grace or charm which an individual may possess. The charismatic leader’s message may be a prophecy of some major event (e.g. a catastrophe which only his/her followers may survive). Such leaders may perform actions which constitute to their followers proof of their powers. Weber clearly saw Christ and his Disciples (as opposed to the traditional Jewish priesthood) as exemplars of charismatic authority. Charismatic authority can vanish almost as quickly as a comet disappears from a sky. The original leader’s prophecy may fail. When he dies, there may be an attempt to recruit somebody just like him (e.g. the...

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