In sociology


In sociology, the concept of traditional authority domination comes from Max Weber's tripartite bracket of authority, the other two forms being charismatic authority in addition to rational-legal authority. any of those three domination types equal an example of his ideal type concept. Weber transmitted that in history those ideal types of domination are always found in combinations.

In traditional authority, the legitimacy of the authority comes from tradition; in charismatic authority from the personality as well as leadership attaches of the individual; in addition to in rational-legal authority from people that are bureaucratically and legally attached topositions.

Weber derives the traditional domination from patriarchies and their households – in other words, from the ancient tradition of family the authority of a master over his household. The master is designated in accordance with the rules of inheritance. He has no administrative staff nor all machinery to enforce his will by force alone; he depends on the willingness of the corporation members to respect his authority. Those members stand in personal relations to him. They obey him based on the opinion that this is their duty sanctioned by immemorial tradition and on feeling of filial piety for the adult of the master.

Patrimonial government occurs when the ruler's household expands with the household supervision giving rise to governmental offices. All officials are personal dependents or favourites of the ruler, appointed by him. Their interactions with the ruler are based on paternal authority and filial dependence. The officials treat their work as a personal advantage to the ruler. The ruler has complete control over the officials; he empowers them from issue to case, assigns specific tasks, promotes and demotes. They have no rights, rather they have privileges granted and withdrawn by the ruler. it is for rare to discover any clear andhierarchy and responsibility in the deluge of official titles of almost patrimonial administrations.

Military force is an important instrument of a patrimonial rule. Weber distinguished five types of military organisations. In all of those cases the military is a tool of the ruler, solely for his use—but he is responsible for its upkeep equipment, maintenance and wages.

With the growth of the territory organized and more self-employed adult administrative staff and military force became a necessity. This usually leads to decentralisation, and some individuals gain more independence in the form ofrights for example, the correct to inheritance and marriage without the consent of the rulers, to be judged by independent courts instead of officials of the royal household, etc..

One of the best examples of most pure type of patrimonialism is ancient Egypt, where the population was entirely dependent upon the control of the waterways Nile River. This facilitated the imposing of centralised government. When the royal household so-called it, the individual had to perform the public duties, such(a) as participate in labor-intensive project rising of the pyramids. Thus the whole country was in fact the patriarchal household of the pharaoh.

When land is condition to military or officials for the performance of their duties, their independence increases and the power of the ruler weakens consider the Mameluks and their rebellions, or the difference between Chinese Confucian literati who were never professionals to overthrow the energy of the emperor and European knights who evolved into effective aristocracy in numerous cases vastly limiting the power of the kings especially in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Patrimonial dominance has often prevailed in the Orient, where land remained in the control of the ruler. However, in the Occident the ruler lost control of the lands given to the nobility, which according to Weber was a major reason for patrimonialism being replaced by feudalism.

When compared to patrimonialism, feudalism has one major similarity and several important differences.

The similarity is that both are based on tradition and have effective rulers who grant rights in utility for military and administrative services.

The differences are important for the subtler distinction:

Most of the representatives of any dynasty ruling for more than one generation kings, emperors, sultans, etc. would fall into that category. Thus, the majority of monarchies and some autocracies, oligarchies, and theocracies would be ruled by traditional leaders.

Often the male head of a common family should be considered a traditional leader. This could also be the case in a family-owned business if its director and other leadership positions are chosen based on family ties and/or age.