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How do modern states maintain their legitimacy? In the 1960s Daniel Bell and others prediced an "end to ideology" when political and social problems would be dealt with by the rational te...chniques of social science. At the same time, Jurgen Habermas argued that the increasingly technical nature of political decision making would lead to an undermining of political consensus and threaten the legitimacy of the modern state. In the 1980s we can see that both these sets of predictions turned out to be wrong. Western governments have failed to solve the problems of unemployment but at the same time there has been a resurgence of ideology which has not seriously threatened existing political systems. Max Weber's theory of legal legitimacy can help to explain the persistence of bureaucratic forms of government. He argued that bureaucracies have their own legitimacy. As long as the policies of government are implemented in accordance with formally correct, abstract rules, they will be assigned legitimacy whatever the outcome.
How do modern states maintain their legitimacy? In the 1960s Daniel Bell and others prediced an "end to ideology" when political and social problems would be dealt with by the rational te...chniques of social science. At the same time, Jurgen Habermas argued that the increasingly technical nature of political decision making would lead to an undermining of political consensus and threaten the legitimacy of the modern state. In the 1980s we can see that both these sets of predictions turned out to be wrong. Western governments have failed to solve the problems of unemployment but at the same time there has been a resurgence of ideology which has not seriously threatened existing political systems. Max Weber's theory of legal legitimacy can help to explain the persistence of bureaucratic forms of government. He argued that bureaucracies have their own legitimacy. As long as the policies of government are implemented in accordance with formally correct, abstract rules, they will be assigned legitimacy whatever the outcome.
| Module code and title: | D209, State and society |
|---|---|
| Item code: | D209; 05 |
| Recording date: | 19-06-1984 |
| First transmission date: | 08-07-1984 |
| Published: | 1984 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OUDA web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:18:17 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Clare Falkner |
| Contributor: | Wolfgang Mommsen |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Bureaucracy; Charismatic authority; Democratic consensus; Ideology; Legitimacy; Traditional authority; Value rationality |
| Master spool number: | 952H760 |
| Production number: | 952H760 |
| Available to public: | no |
