weber often focused on a theory of the process of rationalization.
weber was interested in why institutions in the western world had grown more rational than the rest of the world.
he saw the bureaucracy as the classic example of rationalization.
he differentiated authority into three types: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal.
only the western world can be rational-legal, and can develop modern bureaucracy.
(e.g. The U.S. president derives his authority only from the laws of society.)
the rest of the world remains dominated by traditional or charismatic authority systems.