Power and Authority and Their Influence on Society

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The modern human is accustomed to the fact that the world strives for individual freedom. Freedom seems like a necessity to a person of the twenty-first century, an integral element of their aspirations and society as a whole. However, as in all times, a person was and remains not free from at least one factor: the strength of power. Whether it is the power of religious or political leaders, it has influenced society since the dawn of civilization. The obedience of subordinates allowed society to exist through history. Sometimes the power directs its ability to compel people to violence, hatred, and death. The articles discussed in the essay shed light on power, subjection, and aggression, although the authors differ in their perspectives and writing styles.

A vivid example of the strength of power is the inhuman events in the 20th century of Rwanda, namely the genocide of the Tutsi people by the Hutu people. Gourevitch wrote his article about the aftermath of the events, colorfully describing the bodies of the dead women and children killed incredibly violently — slaughtered with a machete. The skeletons of the dead amazed the author, telling him a story of immense sorrow (Gourevitch).

There were many reasons for the genocide, and they go back to the times of almost pre-colonial Africa and the influence of European countries on it. Notably, Philip Gourevitch’s article contained interviews with people who faced mass destruction of their families. They recounted the events and reflected on the internal essence of the violence. The inclusion of these thoughts underlines the central thesis, which the author interlined in depicting the horrible scene. He states that the reasons for such a scale of genocide were the low level of education and the resulting high power of the authorities in the population’s eyes. The words of Rwanda’s respondent, interviewed by Gourevitch, support this position:

“… You take a poor, ignorant population, and give them arms, and say, It’s yours. Kill. ‘They’ll obey. The peasants, who were paid or forced to kill, were looking up to people of higher socio-economic standing to see how to behave. So the people of influence, or the big financiers, are often the big men in the genocide…. The people were looking to them for their orders”. (Gourevitch, 1998, para. 24).

This statement sheds light on the nature of the influence of power on the acceptability of violence in the eyes of ordinary people, demonstrating this phenomenon. However, according to the author’s idea, this was not the only reason. The power of society as a whole over the individual played an important role as well. This is explicitly stated in the passage of mentioned Gourevitch’s work on this issue, where he retells the words of a genocide survivor:

“Everyone was called to hunt the enemy…. But et’s say someone is reluctant. Say that guy comes with a stick. They tell him, No, get a masu. ‘So, OK, he does, and he runs along with the rest, but he doesn’t kill. They say, Hey, he might denounce us later…. Everyone must help to kill at least one person. ‘So this person who is not a killer is made to do it. And the next day it’s become a game for him” (Gourevitch, 1998, para. 26).

This example is illustrative of the important idea that could be argued further. Namely, authorities sometimes have excessive power over multitudes of people. This strength may lead to unpredictable consequences, oftentimes significantly injuring humanity as a whole and certain individuals as well. To prevent this, people should be conscious of the possible negative outcomes of obedience. Thus, they should recognize the pull of people in power and try to avoid their influence.

Likewise, a critical view is given in the article about an experiment of social psychologist Stanley Milgram’s “Behavioral Study of Obedience.” The essence of the experiment was that people asked questions to a person who was imprisoned in another room with an allegedly attached electric shock. For incorrect answers, the experimental people had to beat the interviewee with a current, the strength of which gradually increased to the point of severe shock. In reality, the interviewed victim was only an actor simulating the pain and agony of the electric shocks. The study results surprised Milgram, who concluded that “obedience is the psychological mechanism that links individual action to political purpose” (Milgram, 1963, p. 1).

To support his thesis, Milgram recounted multiple factors that led to this result. Among them are the initial willingness of subjects to participate in the experiment, the pressure of the authoritative figure, and the credibility of the university experimenting. Thus, Milgram demonstrated that the authority of the people in charge is responsible for the obedience of their subjects.

The experiment is important for asserting an important concept. People may be relatively inventive in the ways of gaining control over the masses to complete their goals. These goals could align with one’s values, but sometimes they do not. Regardless of the statements and pressure that someone attempts to pull on a person, one should be able to keep their mind clear and adhere to their moral compass. Accordingly, people should be rational in accepting the decisions of others and judge right and wrong by themselves.

Based on the previously stated, it is quite possible to judge that Milgram’s study and Gourevitch’s article have a common theme of the influence of power and its power to compel people to violence and aggression. However, Gourevitch’s article has a non-academic style and gives a subjective view, while Milgram’s research is scientific. An experiment that reveals the mechanisms of power and authority demonstrated that people tend to be obedient because of multiple factors, even without hatred towards others. At the same time, Gourevitch’s example suggests that anger is one of the sources of ordered aggression. Despite this significant difference, both works have a common theme and reveal it from different perspectives.

To conclude, an argument from these two works could be derived. The influence of power and authority on society in general and the individual, in particular, has many positive effects. However, this force is often used to incite aggression among the population and force people to violence. A person under the command of a legitimate authority ordinarily obeys, and obedience is natural and frequent. It is a ubiquitous and irreplaceable feature of social life. It does not matter what the power and obedience will be directed to, the genocide of one nation by another or experimenting with violence against an innocent person. The result is always the same that most people will agree to execute violent orders. Thus, it is important to discern between the influence of the other and the genuine values of one’s own.

References

Gourevitch, P. (1998). We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families. Archive New York Times. Web.

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral Study of obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 1–8. Web.

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Power and Authority and Their Influence on Society

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