It was not until the late Middle Ages in Europe that towns acquired political independence from the state. Weber considered this autonomy to be necessary for the establishment of an urban community. For Weber, the key to city life was the creation of an independent urban government that was elected by the citizens of the city itself. Classical Athens and early Rome were two examples. Citizenship was a new form of legitimate authority.

It is also an economy-regulating association . In other words, policy and political authority moved to the centre.