SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Iron Cage, Ideal Type, Meritocracy
19 Dec 2020
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Document Summary
Another famous set of ideal types used by weber concerns legitimate authority. Authority figures usually give orders and people simply follow them b/c the people believe the authority is legitimate, has the right to order them around. Normal, authorities are rarely forced to use coercion. Weber created 3 ideal types of authority. Charismatic authority: charisma, unique powers of individual are the basis for their domination of others. Traditional authority: tradition is used to justify the rule of some over others. Bureaucracy is another famous ideal type of weber. Organization in which rules are the basis of individual action, rules, are rationally organized so everyone works together in pursuit of common goal. Able to harness the effort of thousands of people. Involves coordinating people and getting them to pursue organizational interests instead of personal interests. All the components of bureaucracy help with these tasks by promoting coordination and control. While marveling at bureaucracy, weber also dreaded it.
