On the Nature of Authority.
We often here it said that we should respect authority. This is only partly true. There are four distinct types of authority which we may encounter in our lives, and not all of them are worthy of our respect. In this article, I shall attempt to define what these four are, how they obtain their authority, and why they should or should not be respected.
The first type of authority we encounter in our lives is the authority a parent has over a child. They derive their authority from the facts that they are older, more experienced, and presumably more intelligent than the child, and also from the fact that they generally have the child's best interests in mind. However, this authority is temporary in nature, and does not apply to people who have reached a certain age. Basically, if you are still dependent on your parents to support you, you ought to respect the authority they have over you. Otherwise you should rely on your own judgement.
The second type of authority derives from knowledge or expertise which a person has in a particular area. For instance, a doctor has a great deal of knowledge about human anatomy and metabolism. If a doctor tells you to do something, such as quittintg smoking, you ought to listen, because there will be unpleasant consequences i f you don't, such as lung cancer. However, the doctor does not cause the cancer. He simply warns you that it will occur, and you ignore him in this matter at your own peril.
The third type of authority is the authority which and employer has over an employee. This type of authority is accepted voluntarily by an individual in exchange for a job and a paycheck. An employer may tell their employees not to smoke while working, and ought to be listened to. Of course, you do not have to obey an employer, but he does not have to provide you with a paycheck under those circumstances.
The final type of authority is the authority which a government holds over it's citizens. If a government is functioning correctly, it's authority derives from the fact that human beings have certain rights, and if the rights of an individual are violated, the government must arbitrate the dispute that results, and decide upon (and execute) what if any punishment should be administered to the offending party. However, all to often the nature of the authority of a government is based upon the use of force to either prevent certain actions which are NOT CRIMES, but simply not to the government's liking, or to commit crimes itself by preventing the free exercise of certain intrinsic human rights. Among these two distortions of the proper use of governmental authority are laws against such things as prostitution, drug use, certain types of guns, and many forms of censorship.
When the authority of a government degenerates into this type of travesty, it is no longer based upon a rational principle, but simply the use of physical force to punish arbitrarlly. In this regard, it does not differ significantly from the authority held by the 'alpha male' of a pack of animals, and is worthy of no more respect than that. Furthermore, the fact that we have a large number of individuals in our society who for whatever reason find it necessary to hold the same type of authority over other human beings as an 'alpha male' does over a pack of wolves, is, I think, a sign of some very deep sickness in some members of our species. IMHO the need to dominate other human beings in this fashion is something we should have lost many thousands of years ago along with the need to walk on four legs and to automatically flee at the sight of a fire.