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Authority
Authority is a way of orienting people's behavior without persuasion or coercion. Instead, authority relies on the trust or recognition of others to obtain reliable obedience. While persuasive and coercive measures may be at the disposal of the authority figure, the need to resort to those measures indicates a lack of trust in the authority figure. An authority figure is someone whose status, expertise, or office should ensure obedience without having to explain or coerce.
While the Greek language and history lacked both the concept and practice of authority, nonetheless, it is with the Greeks that the concept first emerges. In The Republic, Plato sought to create a type of rule distinct from tyranny (which relied on coercion) and popular rule (which relied on persuasion). Popular ...
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