But I always thought they do not resist arbitrary authority, they resist all authority.
Is there a difference?
Seriously though, the smart approach is to acknowledge authority to the minimum extent reflective of the degree to which they can actually make life difficult for you.
Seriously though, the smart approach is to acknowledge authority to the minimum extent reflective of the degree to which they can actually make life difficult for you.
That’s easy to say, but in reality, it’s often very hard to know where these limits are. Moreover, it can be very hard to maintain optimal emotional reactions: you want to feel rebellious when it’s rational to stand up for yourself, but you also want to be meek and submissive and feel good about it whenever rebellion would be self-destructive (or otherwise you’ll suffer the feeling of subjugation, and you’ll have to fight the temptation to do something stupid). As I wrote in one of my recent comments, I suspect that an important secret to the achievements of at least some very successful high-climbing individuals is that their emotional reactions happen to be very luckily calibrated in this regard.
Agreed, but I brought up cultural context because I think that in most modern Western societies the consequences to not acknowledging authority are generally less dire than they have been in other times and cultural contexts (less likely to result in death or serious violence). They can certainly be inconvenient however. While I have a certain respect for this guy for example I would probably not want the hassle. He was never in any real danger by not showing respect for arbitrary authority however.
I have friends who have opened my eyes to how far it is possible to safely ignore authority in modern society and I think there are quite a few examples of people achieving significant success by ignoring arbitrary authority that others unquestioningly accept. There are certainly risks however and at certain times and in certain places this strategy can have fatal consequences.
I think that in most modern Western societies the consequences to not acknowledging authority are generally less dire than they have been in other times and cultural contexts (less likely to result in death or serious violence).
That’s true, but on the other hand, the economic and social status consequences can be very severe. For one, insubordination at work is a sure path to unemployability.
Moreover, often the magnitude and even the sign of the consequences is impossible to predict. Suppose you’re tempted to stand up to your boss. Will it make him respect you more, or will you get fired as a consequence? If you get fired, does it mean that you’ve just sabotaged your career, or will you eventually realize that you should have quit that job long ago since much better options are available elsewhere? Often it’s impossible to know.
I have friends who have opened my eyes to how far it is possible to safely ignore authority in modern society and I think there are quite a few examples of people achieving significant success by ignoring arbitrary authority that others unquestioningly accept.
Could you give some details about what exact forms of ignoring authority you have in mind? I’m really curious, but of course I understand if you think it would mean divulging too many personal details in public.
That’s true, but on the other hand, the economic and social status consequences can be very severe. For one, insubordination at work is a sure path to unemployability.
For a sufficiently narrow definition of insubordination it may be a path to being fired (which is not the same thing as a path to unemployability in general). However not exactly following ‘orders’ from a nominal superior in the workplace can often be an effective strategy in my experience. In most workplaces the nominal org-chart hierarchy is imperfectly aligned with the defacto power structure and large gaps can be profitably arbitraged. A lot of ‘office politics’ revolves around shifting the defacto power structure in order to bring about changes in the nominal hierarchy. Naturally there is a degree of risk and uncertainty involved in this kind of activity but this is true of most things in life.
Could you give some details about what exact forms of ignoring authority you have in mind?
I’m afraid I by necessity have to be fairly circumspect. What I have learned from such friends however is that the nominal structure of authority in the world in general (what we might call ‘arbitrary authority’) is very loosely aligned with meaningful authority—that is the power to actually impose on your personal freedom of action. Some people seem to have a natural ability to largely disregard the nominal rules and arbitrary authorities and focus entirely on the reality of what you can get away with. It turns out that this is quite a lot.
What I have learned from such friends however is that the nominal structure of authority in the world in general (what we might call ‘arbitrary authority’) is very loosely aligned with meaningful authority—that is the power to actually impose on your personal freedom of action. Some people seem to have a natural ability to largely disregard the nominal rules and arbitrary authorities and focus entirely on the reality of what you can get away with. It turns out that this is quite a lot.
I think I know exactly what you mean. I also know some people who regularly do things that look like nonchalant recklessness, and yet never suffer the consequences you might expect. They seem to have an extraordinary instinct for distinguishing meaningful from nominal authority. In concrete situations, this can be thanks to technical knowledge (for example, knowing that a punishment you’re threatened with is an enormous hassle to execute in practice, so the threat is effectively empty), or thanks to sheer people skills (e.g. inferring that a threat is not serious just from the way it was delivered).
Another important point is that when you interact with authority figures in practice, a lot of the time they don’t stick to a stern and reserved officialist attitude, but instead lapse into the normal human mental state where they want the interaction to be nice, friendly, and conflict-free, and where it’s possible to establish rapport where they’re effectively treating you as an equal. Individuals with good people skills can reap amazing advantages from such situations. Of course, a wrong step may snap them back into the official mode, possibly with bad consequences.
The psychologists call it “trait reactance”.
But I always thought those with trait reactance do not resist arbitrary authority, they resist all authority.
Is there a difference?
Seriously though, the smart approach is to acknowledge authority to the minimum extent reflective of the degree to which they can actually make life difficult for you.
mattnewport:
That’s easy to say, but in reality, it’s often very hard to know where these limits are. Moreover, it can be very hard to maintain optimal emotional reactions: you want to feel rebellious when it’s rational to stand up for yourself, but you also want to be meek and submissive and feel good about it whenever rebellion would be self-destructive (or otherwise you’ll suffer the feeling of subjugation, and you’ll have to fight the temptation to do something stupid). As I wrote in one of my recent comments, I suspect that an important secret to the achievements of at least some very successful high-climbing individuals is that their emotional reactions happen to be very luckily calibrated in this regard.
Agreed, but I brought up cultural context because I think that in most modern Western societies the consequences to not acknowledging authority are generally less dire than they have been in other times and cultural contexts (less likely to result in death or serious violence). They can certainly be inconvenient however. While I have a certain respect for this guy for example I would probably not want the hassle. He was never in any real danger by not showing respect for arbitrary authority however.
I have friends who have opened my eyes to how far it is possible to safely ignore authority in modern society and I think there are quite a few examples of people achieving significant success by ignoring arbitrary authority that others unquestioningly accept. There are certainly risks however and at certain times and in certain places this strategy can have fatal consequences.
mattnewport:
That’s true, but on the other hand, the economic and social status consequences can be very severe. For one, insubordination at work is a sure path to unemployability.
Moreover, often the magnitude and even the sign of the consequences is impossible to predict. Suppose you’re tempted to stand up to your boss. Will it make him respect you more, or will you get fired as a consequence? If you get fired, does it mean that you’ve just sabotaged your career, or will you eventually realize that you should have quit that job long ago since much better options are available elsewhere? Often it’s impossible to know.
Could you give some details about what exact forms of ignoring authority you have in mind? I’m really curious, but of course I understand if you think it would mean divulging too many personal details in public.
For a sufficiently narrow definition of insubordination it may be a path to being fired (which is not the same thing as a path to unemployability in general). However not exactly following ‘orders’ from a nominal superior in the workplace can often be an effective strategy in my experience. In most workplaces the nominal org-chart hierarchy is imperfectly aligned with the defacto power structure and large gaps can be profitably arbitraged. A lot of ‘office politics’ revolves around shifting the defacto power structure in order to bring about changes in the nominal hierarchy. Naturally there is a degree of risk and uncertainty involved in this kind of activity but this is true of most things in life.
I’m afraid I by necessity have to be fairly circumspect. What I have learned from such friends however is that the nominal structure of authority in the world in general (what we might call ‘arbitrary authority’) is very loosely aligned with meaningful authority—that is the power to actually impose on your personal freedom of action. Some people seem to have a natural ability to largely disregard the nominal rules and arbitrary authorities and focus entirely on the reality of what you can get away with. It turns out that this is quite a lot.
mattnewport:
I think I know exactly what you mean. I also know some people who regularly do things that look like nonchalant recklessness, and yet never suffer the consequences you might expect. They seem to have an extraordinary instinct for distinguishing meaningful from nominal authority. In concrete situations, this can be thanks to technical knowledge (for example, knowing that a punishment you’re threatened with is an enormous hassle to execute in practice, so the threat is effectively empty), or thanks to sheer people skills (e.g. inferring that a threat is not serious just from the way it was delivered).
Another important point is that when you interact with authority figures in practice, a lot of the time they don’t stick to a stern and reserved officialist attitude, but instead lapse into the normal human mental state where they want the interaction to be nice, friendly, and conflict-free, and where it’s possible to establish rapport where they’re effectively treating you as an equal. Individuals with good people skills can reap amazing advantages from such situations. Of course, a wrong step may snap them back into the official mode, possibly with bad consequences.