Max Weber 2: Law in economy and society

Power

Forcing someone to do something even if they resist. A boss yelling, “Do this or you’re fired.”

Domination

Power + Legitimacy (acceptance or belief that the power is justified).

→ Example: You follow your boss’s order because you believe they have the right to tell you what to do (their authority feels legitimate).

how does power turns into domination:

• People in power try to make their actions seem legitimate, meaning right, proper, or beneficial.

• This allows them to convert power into domination: people obey not because they are forced, but because they accept and internalize the commands as reasonable.

• Politicians:

  • Instead of forcing citizens to vote a certain way (pure power), politicians try to justify their positions.

  • The public may then agree and support the politician voluntarily, believing it is in their interest.

• This is domination—the public accepts the authority as legitimate, so the leader doesn’t need to use force.

Weber vs. Marx

• Marx said society is shaped by the economy (who owns production, class conflict).

• Weber disagreed — he said power and the struggle for power drive history.
  To understand societies, we must see how power becomes domination (how people come to accept rule as legitimate).

Charismatic Authority

• one way rulers make people obey them by creating legitimacy.

• It works by making people devoted to the exceptional qualities of a leader—like their heroism, holiness, or extraordinary character—and to the rules or order that the leader sets.

• Basically, the ruler seems special or superhuman, so people follow them because of who they are, not because of laws or force.

• Weber notes that charismatic leaders have historically been the creators of world religions.

• In modern times, it could be a politician or public figure who draws attention through charisma, like an inspiring speaker or someone with a “rock star” personality that makes people want to follow them.

Legitimacy 

• Weber says that every genuine form of domination needs a minimum of voluntary compliance.

  • This means that for someone to truly dominate, people need to accept or internalize commands on their own, not just because they are forced.

  • People have to see the command as beneficial for themselves, even partially.

• Weber notes that things like costumes, personal advantage, or solidarity alone are not enough to make domination reliable.

  • There is an extra element needed: the belief in legitimacy.

  • Every system tries to make people believe it is legitimate, so they obey willingly.

• Elites and myths:

  • “Every highly privileged group develops a myth of its superiority.”

    • This means elites create a story or belief that they are naturally superior.

  • The “negatively privileged strata” (everyone else) accepts this myth in stable societies.

    • You internalize your own submission—you obey because you believe in the story, not just because of force.

traditional authority

• a type of legitimacy based on long-established customs or traditions.

• People obey because they believe in the value or sanctity of these traditions, not necessarily because of the person’s skills or laws.

• The authority of the person comes from the tradition itself, not from their personal qualities or legal rules.

• Example: You obey a priest because tradition gives them the right to guide or lead, not because they forced you or are exceptionally charismatic.

legal rational authority

• a type of legitimacy based on belief in the rules and laws themselves, rather than in a person or tradition.

• People obey because the rules are seen as valid, and those in authority have the right to command only because the rules give them that right

• Leaders are also bound by the rules they enforce—obedience is to the system, not to an individual.

• This authority works through bureaucracy and rule of law, not personal loyalty.

• It can exist in both democratic and authoritarian systems.

• Example: 18th–early 19th century England—the monarch and parliament followed laws, not personal whims.

• It’s commonly linked with capitalist economies, liberal systems, and liberal democracies, where formal rules govern social and economic life.