Concept from Weber; further developed by Worsley (1968) and Wilson (19_). For Weber, charisma is one of three main forms of political legitimacy (the two other types are referred to as "bureaucratic" and "traditional" legitimacy). Charismatic legitimacy may be obtained either by a leader, a prophet, or by an impersonal, utopic ideology. In either case the carrier of charisma manages to unite an (often exploited) group to fight for his vision of a utopian future.

For texts concerned with legitimacy on AnthroBase, click here:
http://www.anthrobase.com/Browse/Thm/L/legitimacy.htm

For texts concerned with utopia on AnthroBase, click here:
http://www.anthrobase.com/Browse/Thm/U/utopia.htm

For texts concerned with messianism on AnthroBase, click here:
http://www.anthrobase.com/Browse/Thm/M/messianism.htm