This week’s key idea is authority—and the often-missed distinction between authority that is legitimate and authority that is merely power wearing a badge. We tend to obey authority to save time, reduce uncertainty, and keep systems functioning. Most of the time, that’s not only reasonable—it’s necessary. But history, psychology, and political philosophy all show the same warning sign: when authority detaches from truth, accountability, or clear limits, obedience can continue even as judgment quietly steps aside. This week explores why that happens, how it happens, and why “just following orders” has never been a sufficient moral defense.
A few more minutes for core takeaways.
This week:
Authority.
Authority is legitimate power. It enables obedience through trust with no need for coercion.
Here are the six core takeaways that forged the depths of this week’s column.
1.
Max Weber (1864–1920)
Born 1864.
Lived from 1864 to 1920, aged 56 years.
Max Weber showed that people obey authority not because it is morally right, but because it appears legitimate within a recognized structure. As societies modernize, authority shifts from persons to systems. The rules, offices, and procedures make obedience feel responsible even for immoral actions.
2.
Power is the ability to carry out one’s will despite resistance.
- Max Weber
- 1922, posthumously, edited by Marianne Weber
By distinguishing power from authority, Weber showed that modern systems govern through legitimacy rather than force. When legitimacy is no longer anchored to truth and accountability, authority does not disappear: it hardens into authoritarianism.
3.
What is Deception Research?
Deception research reminds us that obedience is not a personality flaw: it is a situational vulnerability. When authority is framed as legitimate, procedural, and unquestionable, ordinary people will often surrender judgment without realizing it. Wisdom begins by recognizing that structures influence behavior long before intent.
4.
Why do good people obey illegal and immoral commands?
Stanley Milgram’s experiments revealed that good people obey harmful commands not because they lack morals, but because authority structures transfer responsibility upward. When individuals see themselves as instruments rather than agents, obedience feels correct—even when actions conflict with conscience.
5.
Why do we rely on authority figures for information?
We rely on authority figures because no one can personally verify everything. Authority saves time by acting as a shortcut through complexity. This isn’t irrational, but it is risky. The appeal to authority becomes a fallacy when trust replaces evidence, and when we stop checking whether an authority is accountable, evidence-based, and open to revision.
6.
What does history teach us about authoritarian rule?
Authoritarianism is rarely imposed all at once. It grows gradually as people trade judgment for order, responsibility for procedure, and conscience for compliance. History warns us that the most dangerous systems are not those enforced by terror alone, but those maintained by ordinary people doing what feels normal, expected, and legitimate.
That’s it. The end.