Threats to freedom from within

Freedom is a precious commodity. Those of us fortunate enough to have lived our lives in relatively free, democratic societies might take freedom for granted. Perhaps we feel secure that threats to freedom will remain in check, protected by our values and democratic institutions. It may be difficult to imagine that our most valued rights and freedoms could suddenly be taken from us by an authoritarian regime.

Perhaps we think of fascism as being restricted to remote lands, or as relegated to the pages of history. Yet, a body of research in the social sciences suggests that fascism is never far from us. There is persuasive evidence that the potential exists for totalitarian rule to arise even in the most democratic societies on earth. This potential lies within an attitude, a personality trait that is identifiable and measurable. Like the aliens in H.G. Wells’s “The War of the Worlds,” this potential exists among us, dormant, ready to spring forth when the conditions are ripe.

In his 1996 book, The Authoritarian Specter, psychologist Robert Altemeyer summarized the then current state of the research on “right-wing authoritarianism” (RWA), a label used by Altemeyer and other theorists to describe the conjunction of three clusters of attitudes in a given person. According to Altemeyer, RWA consists of:

“1. Authoritarian submission – a high degree of submission to the authorities who are perceived to be established and legitimate in the society in which one lives.

“2. Authoritarian aggression – a general aggressiveness, directed against various persons, that is perceived to be sanctioned by established authorities.

“3. Conventionalism – a high degree of adherence to the social conventions that are perceived to be endorsed by society and its established authorities.”

Respect for authority, of course, is a quality we generally consider as innocuous, even beneficial. It is something we, as parents, like to instill in our children, and teachers like to receive from our students. It contributes to a pleasing community atmosphere. It greases the skids of social interaction.

Similarly, obedience to authority can be viewed as an essential requirement of social life. It is what keeps our complex societies from collapsing into anarchy. On a local level, respect and obedience to authority are seemingly intractable parts of the cultural fabric of Thai society, and promoted through a variety of local practices and rituals.

Unfortunately, authorities cannot always be trusted to make decisions that are just and humane. This fact seems to have escaped notice by the High RWA individual, who generally accepts the statements and actions of established authorities unquestioningly. Yet, between 1933 and 1945 millions of people were systematically exterminated in response to the commands of legal authorities. Thousands of participants from every walk of life were required to carry out the horrors of the Holocaust.

There are, unfortunately, many other examples that could be cited, of authority gone seriously awry. Can obedience to authority be defended under such circumstances?

The notion that these inhuman acts were carried out by monsters was dispelled by the pioneering work of the psychologist Stanley Milgram, in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority. In laboratory studies, he showed how easy it is for a sanctioned authority to obtain the cooperation of normal subjects in delivering what they believed were excruciatingly painful, and even life-threatening electrical shocks to others.

Not all subjects in Milgram’s experiments obeyed orders with equal ease. Results showed, however, how certain elements of the situation could be arranged to either increase or decrease the chances of eliciting subjects’ obedience. The fact that normal subjects varied in their willingness to obey orders to inflict pain upon others lends support to the idea of a personality trait that varies within the normal population.

One need not look farther than today’s headlines to see evidence of these dangerous patterns emerging within ostensibly free societies. The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to renew provisions of the so-called “Patriot Act” which seriously curtails rights and freedoms of American citizens in the name of combating terrorism. British police have “shoot to kill” orders for terror suspects. According to Human Rights Watch, police in Nigeria, where military dictatorship ended six years ago, routinely engage in torture and killings of criminal suspects. Police tactics reportedly include the use of electrical shocks and the rape of women to extract confessions.

Here in the Kingdom, government officials are accused of “stealing” water intended for local and agricultural use to benefit private industry. Government authorities recently instituted a controversial executive decree which grants immunity to law enforcement officials who commit criminal offenses in the line of duty, and increases government control of the media.

It is vital to our free societies that we learn about the threats to our freedom represented by High RWAs. Familiarity with the work of psychologists like Stanley Milgram and Bob Altemeyer is highly recommended for anyone who holds freedom dear.