Weber identified three forms of authority; which is attached to the position rather than the individual?

Weber identified three forms of authority; which is attached to the position rather than the individual?

• A. Traditional Authority
• B. Rational-Legal Authority
• C. Charismatic Authority
• D. Divine-Right Authority

Answer: (B)

In Weber’s view, authority that is attached to a position rather than to the person holding it comes from a system of formal rules and offices. This is rational-legal authority. Legitimacy arises because the leader operates within an established legal-bureaucratic framework: defined roles, procedures, and impersonal norms. The power of the office persists regardless of who fills it, and obedience follows the legitimacy of the system, not the personal qualities of the individual. Traditional authority, by contrast, rests on custom and the sanctity of longstanding practices or lineage, while charismatic authority hinges on the personal appeal and extraordinary qualities of the individual. Divine-right authority isn’t one of Weber’s three categories, though it’s sometimes discussed in historical contexts.

In Weber’s view, authority that is attached to a position rather than to the person holding it comes from a system of formal rules and offices. This is rational-legal authority. Legitimacy arises because the leader operates within an established legal-bureaucratic framework: defined roles, procedures, and impersonal norms. The power of the office persists regardless of who fills it, and obedience follows the legitimacy of the system, not the personal qualities of the individual.

Traditional authority, by contrast, rests on custom and the sanctity of longstanding practices or lineage, while charismatic authority hinges on the personal appeal and extraordinary qualities of the individual. Divine-right authority isn’t one of Weber’s three categories, though it’s sometimes discussed in historical contexts.