Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional customs - What happens when you move from charismatic to traditional authority

What happens when you move from charismatic to traditional authority

The charismatic model of authority is a form of authority in which the personal qualities and charisma of the leader are used to attract the public and exert influence. This mode of authority, according to Weber, has existed in varying degrees in every historical period of human society. And its prominent role is manifested in times of social crisis. During this period, social unrest, skepticism about original values, and loss of belief in legitimacy provide charismatic leaders with the opportunity to display their individual talents and influence. The legitimacy of charismatic authority is supported by people's admiration for the personal charisma of the leader, and this input of political legitimacy can be transferred to the newly established political system through the transition of the leader and become the basis of legitimacy for the new political system. The operation of this kind of political system often relies on the input of popular sentiment and the output of the spiritual appeal of the leader figure, with obvious irrational characteristics. Historically, charismatic authority is ultimately a transitional mode of rule, so in order to rule for the long term, the political system will have to use the legitimacy support gained from charismatic authority to institutionalize the existing mode of rule and make it the legitimacy belief of the members of society. Therefore, sooner or later, the charismatic authority model has to undergo a transformation, the direction of which generally depends on the interplay of the personal will of the charismatic leader figure, the socio-cultural and historical traditions of the society, the international political environment, and other factors. In specific social environments, the degree of influence of these factors on the current mode of social rule varies, which determines the different characteristics of the mode of rule in different societies in the post-authoritarian era. In the course of the Western bourgeois revolution, there have been charismatic authority figures such as Cromwell, Washington, Napoleon, etc., all of whom legitimized the new mode of authority through their great personal influence