Authority and Obedience

There is a harsh contrast between what we are taught is the purpose of authority (to create a peaceful civilized society) and the real world results of “authority” in action. Flip through any history book and you will see that most of the injustice and destruction that has occurred throughout the world was not the result of people “breaking the law”, but rather the result of people obeying and enforcing the laws of various governments. The evils that have been committed in spite of “authority” are trivial compared to the evils that have been committed in the name of “authority”.

Nevertheless, children are still taught that peace and justice come from authoritarian control and that, despite the flagrant evils committed by authoritarian regimes around the world throughout history, they are still morally obligated to respect and obey the current government of their own country. They are taught that “doing as you’re told” is synonymous with being a good person, and that “playing by the rules” is synonymous with doing the right thing. On the contrary being a moral person requires taking on the personal responsibility of judging right from wrong and following one’s own conscience, the opposite of respecting and obeying “authority”.

"The Most Dangerous Superstition"