Do We Inherently Crave Authority? - Those who would trade essential freedoms, and so forth

[ICametoLurk]

I think humans naturally crave a paternal figure.

Most crime is caused by the children of single mothers and most national responses to desperate situations have been messianic saviors and paternal autocrats.

Hitler's dad died when he was young and you know how that went...

 

[Chexxchunk]

I think a large percentage of the internet population was spoiled by the wild west era of the internet during the 1990s-early 2000s, and they managed to fool themselves into thinking this was the norm. The vast majority of human society and human history is not libertarian.

The frontier is always libertarian by default. In the extreme case, someone completely alone is perfectly free. No one is around to be an authority.

 

[Jeremy Galt]

The frontier is always libertarian by default. In the extreme case, someone completely alone is perfectly free. No one is around to be an authority.

Completely alone sucks the big one. However, a small group of equals is great fun, and we need the pack to survive.
The problem is that most people don't realize that true liberty is a lot of work, and eternal vigilance is required to keep it.

 

[ICametoLurk]

All Governments and Politics are Authoritarian because it is putting your interests over others. Every state is essentially totalitarian and the only options are whether it is a totalitarianism that favors your worldview or suppresses it, supports your people or endeavors to destroy them.

 

[Kalishnakov]

Completely alone sucks the big one. However, a small group of equals is great fun, and we need the pack to survive.
The problem is that most people don't realize that true liberty is a lot of work, and eternal vigilance is required to keep it.

The founding fathers had a deep understanding of the human condition, which is why the 2nd amendment exists.

 

[TiggerNits]

People who had either extremely safe childhoods or insanely risky ones normally end up with an authoritarian bent in my experience.

 

[Jeremy Galt]

"TiggerNits
Yankee vampire living off the blood of the poor"

WOW, gotta love your avatar picture and wise sayings.......
I also have to agree with your post. Authority sucks unless I have it, and lucky for me, I usually do....

 

[Kalishnakov]

I wouldn't know, but I do know it isn't easy to challenge those more powerful.

I was watching just before this a thoughtful video by Michael Jones, who makes an argument that "Truth is what those in power say". It contradicts his personal beliefs in regarding to truth (or logos or natural order), but in practice we collectively agree that truth is what power says. First five minutes of this video. Interesting thoughts:

He can make that argument, but it remains false as no one really knows the thoughts of another but can only assume/hope that they are buying the lie.

 

[Bum Driller]

I believe that humanity as a whole has evolved to such direction that the average Joe in the street indeed does want authority, at least to certain degree, even when he claims otherwise. This is entirely a result of our history as species - up to until 1920's, most societies upon Earth had been very strict aristocracies/oligarchies, where authority was guided by philosophies of strict discipline, enforced with harsh punishments and lower classes were kept in line with brutal force, if need be. This molded the rank-and-file of mankind to want someone to rule over them, and this is also the root cause of what is happening currently in our times. Old shitty days are coming back because most of the people can't handle freedom and can't handle responsibility and thus flock to authoritarian demagogues on both left and right. And that's quite sad, for currently we are really living the best times our species has ever seen, all taken in to account.