Define and outline the development of rational-legal authority. Include sociologist Max Weber's viewpoint
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According to sociologist Max Weber, rational-legal authority is power legitimized by law or written rules and regulations. Rational-legal authority—also known as bureaucratic authority—is based on an organizational structure that includes a clearly defined division of labor, hierarchy of authority, formal rules, and impersonality. Power is legitimized by procedures if leaders obtain their positions in a procedurally correct manner (such as by election or appointment), they have the right to act. Rational-legal authority is held by elected or appointed government officials and by officers in a formal organization.
However, authority is invested in the office, not in the person who holds the office. For example, although the U.S. Constitution grants rational-legal authority to the office of the presidency, a president who fails to uphold the public trust may be removed from office. In contemporary society, the media may play an important role in bringing to light allegations about presidents or other elected officials. Examples include the media blitzes surrounding the Watergate investigations of the 1970s that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, the late 1990s political firestorm over campaign fund-raising and the sex scandal involving President Bill Clinton. In a rational-legal system, the governmental bureaucracy is the apparatus responsible for creating and enforcing rules in the public interest. Weber believed that rational-legal authority was the only means to attain efficient, flexible, and competent regulation under a rule of law.
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Approximately one in ________ children in the United States has at least one parent who is lesbian, gay, or bisexual
a. 2 b. 12 c. 22 d. 32
Which one of the following is considered one of the "big three" sociologists?
a. Émile Durkheim b. W.E.B. Dubois c. Auguste Comte d. Jane Addams
Educational difficulties for Latinos contribute to the group's low ______ status.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
Newman states, "As is always the case when powerful groups feel their position is being threatened, the historically-advantaged people will do anything to maintain their privilege." Is this indeed always true? Give examples of those in power who seek to maintain power and those in power who join coalitions to dismantle social inequality.
What will be an ideal response?