Authority and Freedom

I was flipping channels and on EWTN there was a priest, Fr. Dubay, giving a lecture on the proper exercise of authority.  This talk was gold, because it is an extremely practical subject for everyone, because you will be in a leadership position someday, whether in your family, in a business, or in the Church and it was very well thought out.  I was so impressed with this talk that I took notes which I will reproduce here.

Father Dubay started out by saying that true freedom can be impaired or ruined by bad leadership.  Some people think that the way to guarantee freedom is not to exercise authority at all, but actually defect as well as excess in exercise of authority can wreck things because chaos is not freedom.

The way his talk was set up, he explained that the excess is "authoritarianism" and the defect is "permissivism."  He then described one mistake characteristic of authoritarianism and the corresponding opposing error on the permissivism side, eight in all.  Knowing the extremes will help to maintain the difficult balance of the golden mean.   

1.)
Authoritarianism: Exaggerates desirable unity into excessive conformity.  Squelches legitimate diversity, unreasonably requiring conformity in matters where it is not needed or helpful.
Permissivism: Exaggerates diversity to the detriment of real unity (though maybe preserving a pretend or "paper" unity), leading to loss of shared vision, fragmentation, loss of community, chaos.

2.)
Authoritarian: Tendency toward negativity, pessimism, overemphasis on problems above and beyond what is realistic.
Permissive: Tendency to "wink at" defects when it is not appropriate for such winking to occur; lets things go when correction is needed.

3.)
Authoritarian: Too reluctant to make grant exceptions to rules that have exceptions; inflexible, rigid.
Permissive: In rules that have exceptions, the exception becomes the rule.  Result: not reasonable flexibility but amorphousness.

4.)
Authoritarian: Preoccupation with control - an exaggeration of law and order.
Permissive: Lack of appreciation for the need of authority to exercise control.

5.)
Authoritarian: Overcorrection - steps in to correct excessively or too often.
Permissive: Undercorrection - allows things to happen that should not.

6.)
Authoritarian: Lack of warmth - unable to show affection.
Permissive: Possibly very affectionate, but is imprudently trusting of others, even those who habitually harm the community.  Sacrifices needed discipline in order to be affectionate.

7.)
Authoritarian: Forgets the fragility and uniqueness of individuals.  Lacks compassion.  Harsh.  Rocks the boat even to the detriment of the boat.
Permissive: Fears rocking the boat even when action is needed.

8.)
Authoritarian: Emphasizes stability and continuity to the neglect of needed change.
Permissive: Emphasizes change to such an extent that the community is disrupted.

Troubles with each:
Authoritarian: The excesses of the authoritarian tend to provoke reaction.  When people are given a little bit of freedom, they run wild and cause chaos.
Permissivist: Promotes communal erosion to the point of chaos.

Means to avoid authoritarianism and permissivism:

• Prudence: apply Gospel to challenges in human life.
• Humility: Lk. 10:21 - [Wisdom is] hidden from those wise in their own estimation but given to the childlike.  Humility promotes prudence.
• Learn from people who do it right.