20. Weber on Legal Rational Authority

Foundations of Modern Social Thought (SOCY 151) The purest formthe ideal typeof Weber s legalrational type of authority is bureaucracy. Legalrational authority indicates that authority is invested in a set of rules and rulebound institutions and that the creating and changing the rules are outside of the control of those who administer them; it does not mean, however, that the authority is democratic. Monarchs and even authoritarian leaders who recognize a set of laws external to their powers gove