Rational And Irrational Authority Essay

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Obedience has always been perceived as a virtue, and disobedience has always been associated with delinquency. Depending on the circumstances and the relationship a person has with the authority figure, obedience may be given through mutual respect. When there is a lack of mutual respect between the authority figure and the submissive person, complications arise and the person may find themselves submitting to irrational authority. There is a drastic distinction between rational and irrational authority that holds great significance. Rational authority is established by the fairness of both the authority and person under the authority; the authority does not view themselves as superior to their subject, but holds a higher degree of ability …show more content…
Erich Fromm stated that an example of irrational authority is a relationship between a slave and master. Erich Fromm claims, “the slave owner, on the other hand, wants to exploit the slave as much as possible. The more he gets out of him the more satisfied he is.” Unlike the teacher-student relationship example, the master has no intention of improving their slave’s life; the master does not have a mutual respect for the slave, because the slave is already expected to adhere to the master’s rules by harsh demands. The slave is anticipated to express their respect to their master without gaining any respect back. Dictators, similar to masters, frequently use punitive techniques in order to gain a nation’s respect, and to get them to comply to his requests. A dictator usually demands the nation to conform to his excessive standards that are beyond reasonable limits. This is another example of an irrational authority figure. In our everyday lives, there are people we must obey. There are laws, and authoritarians that assure the laws are being taken into consideration. But there are also orders given to us by irrational authority figures that have crude demands which can inflict a great burden on others. There is an immense difference between rational and irrational authority;
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