Legitimate or Valid? Rethinking Validity as a Dimension of Legitimacy

• In Event: Theorists and Theories in the History of Sociology and Social Thought

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between validity and legitimacy. Validity has long been discussed in tandem with legitimacy, but the precise relationship between the two is not entirely clear. Validity is variably treated as a cause, an outcome, and a constitutive element of legitimacy. A close reading of the classic texts most often cited in discussions of validity (Max Weber’s (1947) essays on legitimate order and authority, and Dornbusch and Scott’s (1975) work on the evaluation and exercise of authority) does little to clarify this relationship. Turning to contemporary theories that treat validity and propriety as constitutive component of legitimacy, we identify three distinct conceptualizations of validity—behavioral orientation, social facticity, and higher-order beliefs—and assess whether each conceptualization can be coherently paired with propriety as dimensions of a larger construct. Based on this investigations, we argue for conceptual separation: validity should be treated as an independent construct that interacts with legitimacy but is not a constitutive element. Finally, we discuss how each conceptualization of validity influences the process of legitimacy and outline directions for future research.

Authors

• Eric W. Schoon, The Ohio State University

• Steven Bao, Ohio State University