Are We Doomed to Forever Repeat the Past?
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about Stanley Milgram’s 1960’s research study. I don’t know why.
If you don’t remember the study this is my synopsis: After World War ll Milgram, a social psychologist, was wondering why a majority of the German people during world war ll seemed to willingly comply with a fascist dictators cruel orders. In other words, why did (do) seemingly reasonable, ethical people comply with unethical authority figures?
Which got Milgrim thinking: maybe it was because German children were socialized to be compliant. Maybe the parenting style in Germany was more autocratic; America could then be considered to be inoculated from fascism, as the parenting styles in America were so different, so much more egalitarian and democratic, fascism would never dare to rear its ugly head again, especially in America.
So he created a test to see if his hypothesis was correct: Would American’s comply with directions to hurt another human being, even when ordered to do so by a person of authority, or would they become “whistle blowers” railing against the injustice? He took bets from other psychiatrists and psychologists. Most said no, Americans would not do it. They would not knowingly hurt another human being, even if directed to do so by a person of authority.
What do you think the answer was? Around sixty-five percent of the subjects complied with the authority figures directions to hurt another person. (No, they were not actually hurting someone else.) Which leaves about thirty five percent left. Thank goodness for those thirty five per centers; the whistle blowers willing to push against tyranny, or else we might just be doomed to forever repeat the past.
