# What Kind of World Do We Live In?

**URL:** <https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/what-kind-of-world-do-we-live-in/1714>\
**Category:** Unbounded\
**Created:** [February 11, 2023, 5:03am UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/what-kind-of-world-do-we-live-in/1714 "2023-02-11T05:03:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 94

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**Author:** ![ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/user_avatar/discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/activemind/32/5560_2.png) [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/what-kind-of-world-do-we-live-in/1714/94 "2024-10-23T21:10:40Z")

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> [@LMD](#):
>
> Do you mean that for the person standing up to it that it could be bad for them, perhaps worse than complying?

That’s what I think.

* * *

> [@LMD](#):
>
> What if you disagree with them and everyone else that they have the authority to do what they’re hoping to do? Wouldn’t you be morally obliged to stand up to them?

I think you should stand up to authority when the outcome is better for you. I don’t think you should be a martyr. If you disagree with everyone and still disobey, then you’re probably gonna get punished more.

If the authority figure’s punishment is widely accepted by society, then it’s almost like a law. They both have power and authority over you and can therefore coerce you with force.

We cannot disobey laws we think are bad. What we can do is speak up so long as we have free speech (if we don’t have free speech, I still don’t think you should be martyr).

I think I agree with Objectivism here:

> **[—Ayn Rand Lexicon](http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/sanction.html:)**
>
> The Ayn Rand Lexicon: This mini-encyclopedia of Objectivism is
> compiled from Ayn Rand’s statements on some 400 topics in philosophy,
> economics, psychology and history.

> A forced compliance is not a sanction. All of us are forced to comply with many laws that violate our rights, but so long as we advocate the repeal of such laws, our compliance does not constitute a sanction. Unjust laws have to be fought ideologically; they cannot be fought or corrected by means of mere disobedience and futile martyrdom.
> 
> “The Wreckage of the Consensus,”  
> [Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal](http://aynrandlexicon.com/ayn-rand-works/capitalism-the-unknown-ideal.html), 235

So you aren’t morally obliged to stand up, because if the compliance is forced then you aren’t sanctioning it. And morally speaking you should do what is in your self-interest; does disobeying lead to better or worse outcome? You aren’t necessarily sanctioning either way.

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