Authority and Authoritarian Rule. (專家和專制)

We adore authority. Supposedly, we abhor authoritarian rule. But authority and authoritarian rule reinforce each other. Authorities are more authoritative in authoritarian systems. Authorities love authoritarian systems. Romain Rolland loved Stalin’s Soviet Union. Earnest Hemingway loved Castro’s Cuba.

When Noulens, a Comintern agent, was arrested in China in 1931, prominent authorities, such as Albert Einstein, campaigned for his release. With the backing from the authorities, it was no wonder that China was later turned into an authoritarian system.

It is not only in the past that authorities favour the authoritarian system. Today, on climate, on medical system, on education, on almost all major issues, authorities are systematically on the side of the authoritarian rule. This is no surprise. After all, authorities are more authoritative in authoritarian systems.

Reference 

Litten, F.S., 1991. Einstein and the Noulens Affair. The British Journal for the History of Science, 24(4), pp.465-467.