English, asked by mercysheba, 14 days ago

Authority in the twentieth century is nowhere what it was. In certain spheres it has disappeared
altogether
. Public opinion no longer feels bound to enforce morality as it did by means of spoken
disapproval and informal penalties. Fathers have ceased to rule the family, employers no longer
enjoy the status of masters; the upper class have ceased to inspire imitation as models of correct
behaviour; schoolmasters and university dons no longer dominate the minds of the young...
Things once considered inherently wrong are tolerated where they are thought to do no manifest
harm: fornication, adultery, homosexuality, abortion, nudity and erotica flourish openly where
they were once legally penalized or forced to be discreetly veiled. Adolescents, who were once
subject to the edicts of parental jurisdiction, live as they please, often earning as much as their
fathers, and enjoying more legal rights at eighteen than their grandmothers possessed at any time
during their lives.
But this decline of authority in the twentieth century has not necessarily meant a rise in liberty.
For the concept of authority is not something which stands logically opposed to that of freedom,
although some unreflective people may think it does. Authority is really a special kind of power
which rests on the consent and belief of those who live under it. Without such free assent there
can be no such thing as authority. So freedom in this important sense is part of the very notion of
authority. And when authority is removed, it is only too likely that it will be followed either by
the rule of naked power or by anarchy.
(262 words)
Maurice Cranston
From: "Authority in Question”, Our World Today, 1973

Answers

Answered by vishnugandre1378

Explanation:

Authority in the twentieth century is nowhere what it was. In certain spheres it has disappeared

altogether

. Public opinion no longer feels bound to enforce morality as it did by means of spoken

disapproval and informal penalties. Fathers have ceased to rule the family, employers no longer

enjoy the status of masters; the upper class have ceased to inspire imitation as models of correct

behaviour; schoolmasters and university dons no longer dominate the minds of the young...

Things once considered inherently wrong are tolerated where they are thought to do no manifest

harm: fornication, adultery, homosexuality, abortion, nudity and erotica flourish openly where

they were once legally penalized or forced to be discreetly veiled. Adolescents, who were once

subject to the edicts of parental jurisdiction, live as they please, often earning as much as their

fathers, and enjoying more legal rights at eighteen than their grandmothers possessed at any time

during their lives.

But this decline of authority in the twentieth century has not necessarily meant a rise in liberty.

For the concept of authority is not something which stands logically opposed to that of freedom,

although some unreflective people may think it does. Authority is really a special kind of power

which rests on the consent and belief of those who live under it. Without such free assent there

can be no such thing as authority. So freedom in this important sense is part of the very notion of

authority. And when authority is removed, it is only too likely that it will be followed either by

the rule of naked power or by anarchy.

(262 words)

Maurice Cranston

From: "Authority in Question”, Our World Today, 1973

Answered by Anonymous

ok i dont know thankyou byebye

Previous Question

Next Question