Authority – Who Is in Charge?

I suspect most of us don’t give authority much thought—until it fails us. We tend to assume those in charge will do the right thing, and we only notice when they don’t. Some of us seek positions of authority, some claim them without consent, some threaten or beat others into obedience, and still others would just as soon focus on other things. I for one would rather be working with clay in my studio, or taking a walk with my wife.

But, authority.

If we are to free ourselves from bullies and parasites and no longer be slaves, we had damn well better understand authority—and fast. Anarchists and poets have both said, “resist authority,” but not much thought has gone into what happens after the current authority is gone—chaos? heaven on earth? limitless indulgence? … Or something worse?

All these potential futures, and a thousand others, have been imagined by the threat—or promise—of authority overturned. They all reveal how little we understand authority—and how deeply we disagree about what it even is. Let’s invest some serious time and thought. It will teach us when and who to resist and restrain.

Otherwise, we will concede and accept a predatory hierarchy as inevitable.

Forms of Authority

There are many ways we experience authority in life. To better understand how it shapes us, for good or ill, it helps to distinguish four major forms:

• Acknowledged and respected – based on expertise
• Imposed, persistent and ingrained – enforced or inherited control
• Overthrown and replaced – through revolution or rejection
• Granted (consented or accepted) – such as elected leadership, employment oversight or project and safety supervision.

This last one is directly connected to true democracy and mutual care.

As these are each sketched in, it will be apparent that there are many areas of overlap and conflict, but understanding the key characteristics of each will open insights into our current inequities and miseries, and help us to find our way forward. Understanding which form we’re under also helps us recognize when to resist—and when to build something better.