The Power of Conformity
Obedience. This is not a word that needs any explanation. The act of obedience is subconsciously ingrained in the minds of all humans. The harsh lesson of obedience is practiced from infancy throughout a human’s lifespan. Man is prone to obey authority as a product of fear, and rarely has the courage to disobey.
Human history has ingrained obedience to the extent that disobedience can be, and has been, punished by death. Crispin Sartwell briefly explains the history of genocide in his article “The Genocide Killer in the Mirror.” Genocide is a planned extermination of a group of people based on their differences in society. Sartwell believes the qualities needed to recruit a person to genocide are deference to authority, and response to social consensus. In addition, he or she must display willingness to respond to people as members of groups, and to expect groups, overall, to display certain qualities. Lastly, Sartwell believes one must have the desire for his or her own security and that of his or her family and friends, to the extent that he or she is willing to make moral compromises to preserve it (233). When genocide is taking place, the members of that society generally choose to obey and conform as a way of avoiding his or her own death. If a member of society disobeys the law, he or she is sentenced to jail or prison. If a member of society takes another person’s life, he or she is generally sentenced to death. Logic clearly shows that society punishes disobedience of authority. Yet, society also promotes individuality, freedom of choice and independence, but only to a legal extent. A person can be different as long as he or she is the same. This is a thin line that most dare not cross. Conformity and obedience are clearly the safest choices. But can extreme obedience be fatal? Erich Fromm believes obedience is a virtue and disobedience is a vice (227). Thus, “human history began with an act of disobedience, and it is not...