Stanley Milgram's 1961 experiment aimed to uncover why individuals, particularly Germans, complied with authoritarian control during the Holocaust. His results, however, showed that 65% of ordinary Americans were willing to follow cruel directives from authority figures, highlighting a disturbing universal trait of human obedience. This phenomenon challenges notions of cultural specificity, suggesting a pervasive psychological vulnerability across different societies. The findings emphasize the necessity for personal responsibility, skepticism toward authority, and empathy in countering such compliance in contemporary contexts, including today's political landscape.
Milgram's experiment revealed that ordinary Americans, like Germans, could easily obey harmful authority, demonstrating a universal vulnerability to authoritarian influence.
Resistance to harmful authority requires personal responsibility and a healthy skepticism of power, as well as the empathy to recognize suffering.
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