"Perhaps this has always been true for a majority of humans?"
It is. Way back in college in 1986 I took a class on American Utopian Communities. All utopian communities are totalitarian dictatorships. they only differ in whether they are religious or ideological. At the end of the class the prof went around the room asking all of the students (about a dozen) if they would ever consider joining a utopian community, even if just on a trial basis. I was the last one in line (luck of the draw, really). Every single student said "yes". When I said "Never under any circumstances" most of them were immediately hostile.
There are enough people out there who actively want someone else to do all of the intellectual heavy lifting for them. They just want to be told what to do. They just want to be taken care of. A major selling point of utopian communities is the lie of unconditional acceptance and care...as long as you mindlessly obey. And if you don't obey, you are cast out. Because the communitiy is your entire life, everyone you know and associate with - your employers/employees/coworkers/family members - shun you. You lose every social connection, your job, your house, everything. Sound familiar?
When the price of merely questioning authority is the loss of everything in your life, people tend to not question authority. And as we've seen, there are plenty of peope who will gleefully destroy your entire life if you dare to question their preferred authority.
"Perhaps this has always been true for a majority of humans?"
It is. Way back in college in 1986 I took a class on American Utopian Communities. All utopian communities are totalitarian dictatorships. they only differ in whether they are religious or ideological. At the end of the class the prof went around the room asking all of the students (about a dozen) if they would ever consider joining a utopian community, even if just on a trial basis. I was the last one in line (luck of the draw, really). Every single student said "yes". When I said "Never under any circumstances" most of them were immediately hostile.
There are enough people out there who actively want someone else to do all of the intellectual heavy lifting for them. They just want to be told what to do. They just want to be taken care of. A major selling point of utopian communities is the lie of unconditional acceptance and care...as long as you mindlessly obey. And if you don't obey, you are cast out. Because the communitiy is your entire life, everyone you know and associate with - your employers/employees/coworkers/family members - shun you. You lose every social connection, your job, your house, everything. Sound familiar?
When the price of merely questioning authority is the loss of everything in your life, people tend to not question authority. And as we've seen, there are plenty of peope who will gleefully destroy your entire life if you dare to question their preferred authority.
what a fascinating story! thanks for sharing!