Ideal types occupy the unattainable maximum of a concept’s continuum, not a separate category.

Evidence

An ideal type in my framework would mean those cases that score 1.0 (i.e., the maximum) on all the secondary-level dimensions. In many ways this is the best way to think about ideal types. Inherent in the notion of an ideal type is that it lies at the extreme end of the continuum. There can be nothing, conceptually at least, that is better. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts and Measurement, 1383

Categorization

• DEFINE: Restates the ideal type as a maximal score across secondary dimensions rather than a distinct kind of concept.