Understanding

Culture Society
and Politics
LESSON
TYPES OF AUTHORITY AND LEGITIMACY
Authority is the power of an individual/a group to enforce rules upon the members of
a certain group.

Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a

specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as
legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled.

States vary based on who holds power, who elects the empowered, and how authority
is maintained. Sociologist Max Weber identified three types of authority as the basis to
legitimize exercise of power.
1. Traditional authority is legitimated by the sanctity of tradition. The ability and
right to rule are passed down, often through heredity. The leader is dominant and his
authority depends on the traditions or customs. An example of these are the Maranaos
of the Philippines and the Tudors of England.
2. Charismatic authority is based upon the perceived extraordinary characteristics
of an individual. A leader whose vision and mission inspire others. Based in history,
there were lots of leaders that will not be forgotten because of their charisma

With all of these faces below, have you seen the face of the late Ramon Magsaysay? He
was the seventh president of the Republic of the Philippines, was an example of
Charismatic leader because people perceived him to be sincere and with a sense of
mission to serve the best interest of the Filipino people.

His simple and honest way of life, his humility and his success in bringing the Huks in
the fold of government made him the idol of the masses and has been so loved by the
Filipino people.
3. Legal-rational authority can be defined as a bureaucratic authority, where power
is legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations such as governments. Ergo, this
is the actual type that has been applied in the present society and the basis for
modern democracies. Leaders were elected by its constituents, as similar to what we
have in the Philippines. The power of the rational-legal authority is mentioned in the
constitution.

LEGITIMIZATION
Legitimacy is the popular acceptance of an authority, usually a governing law
or regime. A British social philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) said that the political
legitimacy derives from the popular explicit and implicit consent thus, the government
is not legitimate unless it is carried on with the consent of the governed. The American
political scientist Robert A. Dahl explained legitimacy as a reservoir; so long as the
water is at a given level, political stability is maintained. If it falls below the required
level, political legitimacy is endangered.

TYPES OF LEGITIMACY
1. Traditional legitimacy derives from societal customs and habits that emphasize
the history of the authority of tradition. The institutions of traditional government
usually are historically continuous, as in monarchy and tribalism.
2. Charismatic legitimacy derives from the ideas and personal charisma of the
leader, a person whose authoritative persona charms and psychologically dominates
the people of the society to agreement with the government’s regime and rule.
3. Rational-legal legitimacy derives from a system of institutional procedures, where
government institutions establish and enforce law and order in the public interest.

FORMS OF LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT

1. Communism: The legitimacy of a Communist state derives from having won a civil
war, a revolution, or from having won an election thus, the actions of the Communist
government are legitimate, authorized by the people. In the early twentieth century,
Communist parties based the legitimacy of their rule and government upon the
scientific nature of Marxism.
2. Constitutionalism: The modern political concept of constitutionalism establishes
the law as supreme over the private will, by integrating nationalism, democracy, and
limited government. The political legitimacy of constitutionalism derives from the
popular belief that the actions of the government are legitimate because they abide by
the law codified in the political constitution. The political scientist Carl Joachim
Friedrich (1901-84) said that, in dividing political power among the organs of the
government, constitutional law effectively restrains the actions of the government.
3. Democracy: In a democracy, government legitimacy derives from the popular
perception that the elected government abides by democratic principles in governing,
and thus, is legally accountable to its people. According to Abraham Lincoln, the 16 th
president of the United States of America, “Democracy is the government of the people,
by the people, and for the people.”
4. Fascism: Based its political legitimacy upon the arguments of traditional authority.
Fascism is a political system headed by a dictator in which the government controls
the lives of the people and opposition is not permitted.
5. Monarchy: The divine right of kings establishes the political legitimacy of the rule
of the monarch. Legitimacy also derives from the popular perception and acceptance of
the monarch as the rightful ruler of a nation. Moreover, constitutional monarchy is a
variant form of monarchic political legitimacy which combines traditional authority
and legal-rational authority

ACTIVITY 1. Take a look at the following pictures. Do you still recall them? Within a
minute, can you name the leaders and the types of authority or leadership they up to?
Given the country, select if they are into Charismatic, Traditional and Legal-
Rational Authority. Write your answers on the space provided.

COUNTRY NAME OF LEADER TYPE OF

AUTHORITY
PHILIPPINES 1. 2.

UNITED KINGDOM 3. 4.

GERMANY 5. 6.

ACTIVITY 2: WRAP-UP
To sum up the learnings you’ve got from this module answer the following questions.
a. what are your thoughts if there is no effective legitimate authority in a society?
 b. What problems arose in the community if there is no legitimate authority to
govern?
c. How might authority be used to deal with these problems? Enumerate your
answer.

ACTIVITY 3: VALUING
It is very important for us to know the importance of authority and its legitimacy. But,
are we programmed to follow orders? And if we are, how did you do it? Why is there a
need for Palawenos to conform and be obedient to authorities specially in this time of
pandemic? Make a table and cite your views on the pros and cons of conforming and
obedience to authority.