The concept of legal-rational rule

Legal-rational rule (referred to as juridical rule) is based on a set of internally logical rules of law and on orders issued by legally authorized administrators. This form of rule is fundamentally different from the two previous forms of rule in that it does not depend on the identity or attributes associated with an individual, and is a form of "depersonalized" rule. This form of rule has gained a dominant position in modern Western societies, and its most obvious manifestation is the ideal of the so-called "state of law" (Rechtstaat). What allows the rule of law to be effectively maintained is the interrelated set of beliefs that (1). The body of law applicable to a particular social group either arises by the unanimous consent of all members of society or is issued by an authority recognized by all members of society, and that this rational body of law will be obeyed by all members of society; (2). Any law is abstract and general in character and does not refer to specific individuals or groups. The administration of society revolves around the enactment, maintenance, and enforcement of laws. The legislature is responsible for formulating general norms applicable to the entire social group, providing a basic orientation for the behavior of social members and the construction of social relations; the judiciary is responsible for correcting deviations from the legal order in specific cases, thus maintaining the stability of the law-based social order; and the executive is responsible for the day-to-day management of society according to a set of established rules; (3). Law becomes a highly differentiated social system, independent of politics, religion and other social spheres. Legal professionals have received specialized professional training and form an autonomous professional ****some; legal knowledge is highly abstracted and generalized, becoming a kind of specialized knowledge that can only be grasped by specialists; the practice of law has to be carried out by specialists, and non-professionals are not able to get involved in the practice of law because of the dual limitations of qualification conditions and the knowledge itself; (4). Not only does the practice of law have the above characteristics, but the daily management of the whole society has entered into a state of technologization and dehumanization. Managers are filled by specially trained persons, strictly following the rules and not influenced by personal psychological factors.

According to Weber, the juridical type of rule is a very prominent feature of modern Western society, and its emergence and development are closely related to the unique religious, cultural, and economic patterns of Western society. The emergence of this form of rule was largely synchronized with the rise of the nation-state. The mode of rule of the nation-state relies on such preconditions as (1). The state monopoly of ruling and administrative resources, which requires: (a). The creation of a centralized, centrally directed and durable system of taxation; (b). The creation of a standing army under the unified leadership of a centralized government agency. (2). The monopolization by the central government of the power to make laws and the legitimate use of violence. (3). The organization of a rationalized bureaucracy to carry out the day-to-day administration of society on behalf of the state. The basic features possessed by the juridical type of rule help to fulfill exactly these conditions, and therefore it is the natural mode of rule chosen by the nation-state.

In Weber's theory of society, each type of juridical rule corresponds to a specific type of rule. Traditional rule corresponds to paternalistic rule, charismatic rule to centralized leadership, and juridical rule to "bureaucratic" rule. "Bureaucracy" is an important "ideal type" that Weber used to describe the legitimate forms of rule in modern societies.

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