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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (154521)	1/11/2006 6:45:58 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793957

Anything that relies on a centralized authority is authoritarian. I don't agree. We have more or less authoritarian families and more or less authoritarian corporations and other institutions Maybe actual violence is to high of bar, but the family, company, or other institution would have to exercise a serious level of imposed control over you. Among religion, fundamentalists, charismatic-leader cults, and the Catholic Church (the pope is infallible) are typically authoritarian. The Catholic Church used to be authoritarian but it can't really do anything to you know. It can persuade but not control. Some of the "charismatic-leader cults" might exercise enough control to be authoritarian over their members. An organization that enforces absolute obedience is authoritarian. The "infallible" doctrine is a proclamation that things are true or false (and only a very limited number of things), not an imposition of control or an expectance of absolute obedience. The church even says you should follow your conscience (of course they want the conscience to be "informed" by the Church's teachings). Whether mom and the kiddies defer to daddy out of reverence or out of fear, daddy still is the authoritarian leader. I don't agree unless such deference extends to near total and unquestioning obedience and if "daddy" expects such obedience, and is trying to get it. Tim Edit - The "near total and unquestioning obedience, doesn't have to be cover almost every area of your life, that would be totalitarian and authoritarian doesn't have to be totalitarian. But authoritarian does convey the idea that you have to obey when and where the orders are given. It implies imposed control, not just a certain level of deference and respect.