The Nature and Limits of Authority

The sustained, widespread, and sometimes violent attacks on authority that characterized the year 1968 have subsided; the erosion of authority, however, has quietly continued. Frequently those who uphold authority have been no more clear in their defense than those who have attacked it have been in their protest. A large number of recent works have dealt with particular aspects of authority: the classical analysis of Max Weber has been thoroughly critiqued; the sociologist Robert Nisbet has described the "twilight of authority"; and the psychologist Stanley Milgram has dramatically portrayed some of the pernicious psychological aspects of "obedience to authority." Richard De George has undertaken the task of writing a comprehensive philosophical analysis in order to clarify what authority is, what its forms are, which of its functions can be justified, and when it should be challenged and resisted. The analysis undertaken in this book is not restricted to political authority; it seeks to define the nature and status of authority in all its myriad forms. Following a logical and conceptual analysis of authority, De George applies that analysis first to the domains of public life, especially the political and economic realms, and then to the private domains of morality, religion, education, and creativity. In his conclusion he draws together the implications for American society. Although not written as a text, this volume will be useful in political philosophy, political science, and sociology courses.