Interesting read on the concept of cognitive dissonance, and the rationalizations, confirmation biases and self-justifications used by people behaving badly. http://www.amazon.com/Mistakes-Were-M...

I agree totally andcompletely

I'm always good to know more, but at age 77and being involved with this stuff for so many years, not much is new.
We have a house still under rehab, and website to build, and friends we enjoy, so there's only so much time for whatever.

You make very good points. Thoughtful answer. Thank you.

Some are truly evil but I'd guess the majority of them are people who have been conditioned to accept authority ("...but it's the law) and the consequences of disobeying orders most likely will result in their own deaths and those of their family.

I've seen the average person justify some rather bad things just to maintain their personal world view, I can only imagine the rationalization ability of a person actually facing their own death, or even financial, destruction.

I also factor in the "well, I'm only one person. It's still going to happen. One person can't stop this so I must do what I must to survive."

I agree, but what makes those thousands able to torture and execute over and over?

Millions of people can be exterminated because thousands of others follow orders that support the extermination.

Chaos is terrifying enough for people they will jump at totalianarianism just for stability.

Thank you for posting this.

I hold the order takers far more responsible than the order givers. Imagine if there were no order takers? The people who took the the grain, the dead and chose to murder because they were so ordered by the government, are the truly guilty ones.

Once upon a time I "understood" that people had to make a living so I never held customer reps, supervisors, management, etc responsible for their employers actions.

Now I do.

Companies can't exist without a workforce. Imagine how successful an HMO would be with MDs, RNs on down to customer reps working for them?

How can evil exist without those people who insist they had no choice? They had choices. Even if someone is holding a gun to your head, you are making a choice.

People, by virtue of continuing to work for companies that make profits via deliberate, harmful actions, are aligning themselves with the company and its philosophy. They become part of the problem. They are the ones who hide behind "I'm sorry that happened. I understand your frustration but it is company policy." As if that makes everything OK.

If you think it is OK for people to make a living supporting harmful companies...why is it not okay when a person chooses to follow orders when to refuse means facing certain death? Being put to death is a bit more troublesome to the individual than figuring out an alternative means to making a living, so why should that person be condemned?

What is the difference between "I have to follow company policy" and "I was following orders"? One is but a stepping stone to the other.

We are taught to obey authority. We are taught that we must do what we don't like in order to survive. I'm amazed, and frightened, by the degree to which people accept what they are told without question.

We are conditioned to "take orders" with no thought toward discernment.

Thanks, I actually have that one. Been a few years though. Time for some re-reads.

It was originally a speech given by her at Ford Hall Forum in Boston. It was recorded and was at one time available as an LP(!). Later, it was included with a bunch of other great essays in the book Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal which I assume is still available on Amazon.

I had hoped he would be the proverbial straw that broke the camels back that woke people up but that doesn't seem to be the case. It would have been a positive.

Is this essay included in one of her books or do you get it separately?

Agreed.

Placing anarchy at the opposite end from fascism, socialism, & communism makes Capitalism with a rights respecting government just a compromise between them. Capitalism becomes either a compromise between two evils or a step below the implied greater good of anarchy. Anarchy belongs on the other end along with fascism, socialism & communism. especially because of that "attraction of the 'Great Leader' " you mentioned.

agreed

Great video. I wonder if it actually broadcast anywhere. It ought to be on the history channel 2 or 3 times a year. Mostly stuff I already knew, some just in passing, but putting it all together and in chronological order really makes the horror of it all sink in. I really hadn't realized that the link between the USSR and Germany was that extensive.

SICKENING THOUGHT

I knew the broad strokes of the information, but I learned a lot of facts and details. I also was not aware of the enormous numbers of people killed by Soviet Russia. Why would you be resistant to increasing your knowledge and understanding?

Could be, but don't we already know about all it might say? I'm finding dang few surprises anymore!

Great history lesson, obscured by the west's focus on Hitler's Nazis.

Something I find bizarre is how the Obama/Hillary/Warren escape the correlation to the Nazi's and this view of the Soviet Union. Somehow they stride as liberators, and the power they take away from the people is supported by the handouts they offer.

Erased from memory? Not quite. There are still many families who remember the stories of how many escaped the Soviets and landed in Israel, New York, and Brazil. My Grandmother's cousin, Benjamin (Benny) was sent to the Gulag. He managed to escape and walked from Siberia to Poland over a period of three years (many horrendous stories to be told about that). He had friends in Warsaw and worked there for two years saving every penny. With false I.D. (we think) he made it to the USA. Took up his trade (tailor) became a citizen and got married. I was 20 when my fiancée and the family traveled to New York to attend his wedding. The stories he could tell, but never did. He only lived another ten years, but for him it was ten years in heaven.

Dean, this one was worth it....

Mine too and around the same time.

Politicians make war, not “the people.” Whatever a particular politician believes will keep it (I say “it” so as not to be sexist or prefer once species of animal over another, thus keeping me politically correct) in power. Seen from this perspective, i.e., “what keeps me in power,” most wars become quite clear. Ron Paul dramatically makes this point in his latest book.