This is a sequel to an article published in July, "The Lure of Obedience, which I reviewed at that time. If I had only this article to interpret, I would be confused as to Little's conclusions:
Milgram’s famous experiment demonstrated the immense power of institutions, their ability to produce acts which bore no relation to the desires of the perpetrators. But this power can be turned around. Society can be organised differently. A non-obedient society, one that doesn’t degenerate into chaos, is possible. Power cannot be abolished but it can be changed.
Most importantly, if the power of institutions is not democratised, they will continue to dominate human society with baleful consequences. An attitude of vigilance and scepticism is not sufficient. Economically and ecologically, the capitalist society we inhabit requires conscious, democratic transformation. To leave it, institutionally, to its own devices is to invite disaster. [my emphasis]After reading both articles, it appears to me that he is assuming that there is no alternative to societies organized by a capitalist system. However, he insists that we must "democratise" them--by which he means that we must build into the existing society more democratic participation in decisions.
Of course, given his assumption, one can only arrive at his conclusion--except that his conclusion is in contradiction with a class structured society that one finds under capitalism. Any class structured society is by definition one where there is a ruling class that dominates other classes for self-serving purposes. The most cost-effective way that ruling classes have developed to control their disadvantaged sub-classes is by using a system of hierarchy. Such systems are enforced by rewards and punishments, and citizens are socialized throughout their lives to believe in the virtues of obedience. Thus, only the most independent, or least socialized, citizens are able to resist conformance to authority in such societies. The only way that capitalist societies can exist without hierarchy is through the implementation of a costly police state.
