Is Superior Violence Necessary for Civil Society to Exist?

[Esnas]

... Has anyone ever heard of Stanley Milgram?

The implications of Stanley Milgram’s research on obedience and obeisance are astounding!

See http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/psychology/psych1a6/1aa3/Social/lec4-1.htm

Military psychologists and advertisement specialists have certainly understood it. But the implications have not filtered down to the general public although the initial research was done over 50 years ago. What it implies is that most of us are capable of torture or any other form of violence if directed to do so by an authority. We are not only capable but will carry out such measures with gusto (especially in times of psychological insecurity). What are the alternatives? Perhaps understanding insecurity and educating children and adults for critical thinking.

 

[selfAdjoint]

I think we will not ever have a scientific understanding of human personality if we do not acknowledge these potentialities within us.

 

[Zlex]

Civil society is 100% dependent, ultimately, on the concept of Superior Violence; thus, the Paradox of Violence.

It's not even debatable, except with the fringe anarchists who disavow the role of the cops, courts, jails, and military in defending civilization from the first barbarian so inclined to say 'no' to mere polite requests on paper. All of those expensive institutions are instruments of superior violence directed at the physical absolute "laws without enforcement are mere polite wishes on paper."

We arm our cops with lethal force to serve impolite warrants and remove freedom in heated jails while awaiting forced appearances in front of a judge and jury who will dispose of one's freedom as they see fit, at the point of a gun. aka, via projection of Superior Violence. At no point in the process is a polite, "No, thank-you" ever sufficient to avoid the Superior Violence projected by the state in defense of civilization.


Civil society may attempt polite means first, "Please obey these laws, please accede to this warrant," but ultimately, civil society relies on and is dependent upon the concept of superior violence in order to subdue violence.

The yet children among us rail at this without offering viable alternatives, because the hard fact is, the alternative is surrender society to the first barbarian to arrive.

The same is true in the international community as well as any community. A town without a sheriff is just a lot of utopic wishful thinking.



We are partially lied to from day one; "Crime does not pay." That is a load of crap; Crime not only pays, it pays damn well. The only reason crime does not pay is because the balance of civil society bands together to project Superior Violence in the name of the state to artificially exact a price for crime. Crime will always be easier than calculus, and the inevitable takers of those short cuts will always be with us in our not about to lockstep like a giant bee colony sea of just naked sweaty apes.

Those anarcho-children that would disagree would need to disavow the role of the cops, courts, jails, and the military, and wish, like children, that there would never be a need for a stern word from mom or dad to establish a civil order in the world.

Even if that were true for 99% of us, and it is, the never going to be merely wished away 1% will forever make it not sufficient.