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Consent: Lowi is correct that the government relies on the population's perception that their interests are being taken into account in the decision making process. The identification of "the population" changes as the government moves from the charismatic to the traditional to the legal-rational model. Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Napoleon and Hitler were charismatic leaders who depended on the consent of relatively few people. King John based his claim to the crown on traditional rights, and depended on the consent of his nobles. When he signed the Magna Charta, its provisions only applied to those nobles. After the Enlightenment governments began to be based on election under which consent was from the electorate. |