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At what point does obedience to authority becomes dangerous?
Obedience to authority is very necessary for people to coexist peacefully within the society. Obedience is evident when a person is influenced by the other who holds a position of authority. In every society, there are those people who are entrusted with power and authority. However, some argue that the obedience to the authority may become dangerous at some point (Miller 34). When the authoritative power is taken to extremes, the obedience to authority may become dangerous. Some people have used their powers within the society to inflict harm to their subjects. This essay analyzes the point at which the obedience to authority becomes dangerous. The essay argues that obedience to authority becomes dangerous when the leaders misuse their authority and their subjects follow them blindly.
There are several instances when obedience to authority is good. Obedience can be effective in saving lives and property within the society. For example, the authority can persuade members to drive responsibly on the roads to prevent road accidents. The obedience by the drivers will be very critical in saving lives and property along the road. Without obedience, the drivers are likely to driver carelessly in a manner that may cause accidents. Obedience is enforced to support moral behavior within the society (Armstrong 125). In most cases, there are few individuals who act contrary to the majority expectations.

For example, some members of the society condone stealing and abusing their colleagues. Obedience sets the pace for the consequences of not following certain set objectives by the authorities. In the current era, the people who fail to obey the authority may be arrested, tested, and imprisoned. This helps to set uniform moral behavior within the society. Any society that follows the orders from the authority experiences social and economic stability (Pina, Armenio, & Stewart 299). Businesses will realize their potential in an environment supported by a social order. The citizens will also support tax initiatives due to obedience from their masters. The group settings can influence the judgments of the individual members in the group. When their judgment is impaired, such people can easily be harmed. The life in the society requires consensus building among the leaders and their subjects. The people in authority should not force their subjects to do things they may feel reluctant to do.
Despite its perceived benefits, the obedience to authority can equally be dangerous. The people in leadership can take their roles to the extreme in a manner that hurts their subjects. Therefore, the obedience to authority should only be exercised up to certain limits. It would be dangerous for one person to harm the other person with the aim of obeying the authorities. Despite the common cause to follow orders from the authority, it must be done with decorum to avoid inflicting harm on others. Some leaders have been known to take advantage of the obedience from their subjects to cause harm to others. Obedience is likely to become dangerous in cult settings (Miller 56). In cult settings, people have been brainwashed to follow false doctrines. Obedience to the cult can be very dangerous is the leader can easily harm his subjects. For example, the Heaven’s Gate cult members were brainwashed by their leader and his subjects followed him blindly. Eventually, several people had to die as they were united by devotion to the person who manipulated them.
In his research, Milgram demonstrated that people have a strong tendency to comply and obey the directions given by the authority. Most of the people become obedient to authority since they want to avoid the negative consequences that come with not obeying the authority. Also, people obey the authority because they believe that authority is legitimate. Milgram assets…“The most far-reaching consequence is that the person feels responsible to the authority directing him, but feel no responsibility for the content of the actions that the authority prescribes” (Milgram 361). The research by Milgram demonstrated that people are likely to obey authority, even in circumstances when they realize that it violates their set of values and beliefs (Milgram 62). On the other hand, Milgram established that people are reluctant to be rude and offend the authority. In his experiments, Milgram noted that the human beings legitimize the cruelty from the authorities simply because they were following orders.
In another story, Ursula talks about a place where the happiness of the child depends on the misery of the segregated child. These people have been made to believe that their success as villagers depends on the mystery of the neglected child who lives in a cage. Therefore, most of them obey the authority and accept that the child needs to suffer for the benefit of the society. Ursula says… “No one is allowed to speak even a kind of word to the child, and no one stays with it for long” (Ursula, 162). These people believe that their city would falter if they rescue the child from mystery. The child has been strategically put there for the villagers to understand the extremes of cruelty and its relation to happiness in the society. However, some people seem to be irritated by such cruel treatment and decide to leave the village. These people seem not able to withstand the level of hypocrisy that’s resulted from the obedience to the authority.
The people in authority should not abuse power vested in them. Even though it is good to follow orders, some level of discretion should be applied in following such orders (Miller 94). To define their roles in the society, people should stick to their ethical and moral understanding. When placed in a mock, people should not take the attitudes that may look dangerous when applied. It is very easy for a person in authority to gain power and use it in a wrong manner. However, it is morally and ethically wrong to use the same power to harm other members of the society. People should obey orders from the authority, provided such orders does not cause harm to other members of the society.
In conclusion, it is evident that authority should be obeyed to bring social order within the society. Research has established that people are accustomed to obeying the authority without questioning the impact of such obedience. However, the authority should not be the final decision-making body in deciding the next course of action. Any request from the authority should be scanned under moral and ethical realm. Therefore, people need to apply their morals and ethics in making some decisions that may be contrary to what the authority demands. When the obedience to authority is taken too far, it becomes easy for people to be hurt.
Work Cited
Armstrong, J. S. “Obedience to Authority.” Journal of Marketing (pre-1986) 39.000003 (1975): 125. ProQuest. Web. 9 Nov. 2016.
Pina, E. Cunha, Arménio Rego, and Stewart R. Clegg. “Obedience and Evil: From Milgram and Kampuchea to Normal Organizations.” Journal of Business Ethics 97.2 (2010): 291-309. ProQuest. Web. 9 Nov. 2016.
Milgram, Stanley, The Perils of Obedience, Harper’s, 247:1483 (1973:Dec.) p. 62
Miller, Arthur G. (1986). The obedience experiments: A case study of controversy in social science. New York: Praeger
Ursula, Le Guin. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. New Dimensions, volume 3, 1973, Print