Anticipatory Obedience: A Warning from the Rise of Nazism
2025-02-12
Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny" highlights that the success of Nazism wasn't solely due to force, but also to citizens' "anticipatory obedience." People proactively adapted to the new regime, acting even without explicit orders. The annexation of Austria showed how this compliance emboldened the Nazis, leading to the Jewish tragedy. The Milgram experiment corroborated this, demonstrating people's surprising willingness to obey authority, even when it meant harming others. This warns us that blind obedience to authority can have catastrophic consequences, underscoring the importance of upholding one's values.