Coming soon · Book Profile
Obedience to Authority (Perennial Classics)
Through a series of controlled laboratory experiments, Stanley Milgram demonstrates that ordinary people will inflict apparently lethal harm on an innocent person simply because a legitimate authority commands them to.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Obedience to Authority is Milgram's landmark account of nineteen experimental variations in which ordinary citizens, recruited from all walks of life, were ordered by a calm experimenter to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to a protesting victim. Defying nearly everyone's predictions, roughly two-thirds obeyed to the maximum 450-volt level. Milgram shows that this behavior springs not from sadism or aggression but from a profound human tendency to abdicate personal responsibility once embedded in a hierarchy—what he calls the 'agentic state.' By systematically varying proximity to victim and authority, the institutional setting, group pressure, and the status of those issuing commands, he isolates the conditions that make obedience and disobedience more or less likely. Grounded in the shadow of the Holocaust and extended to Vietnam and My Lai, the book offers a chilling, rigorously argued portrait of how decent people become agents of destructive systems—and what occasionally allows them to resist.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A thoughtful reader who wants to understand why ordinary, decent people commit atrocities under orders and how to recognize and resist unjust authority.
- The problem
- Destructive obedience—people harming others on command—recurs throughout history, from the Holocaust to My Lai. The reader feels unsettled and uncertain whether they themselves would resist, and uneasy about trusting their own moral resolve.
- The plan
- Confront the experimental evidence honestly rather than relying on flattering assumptions about human nature.
- Understand the 'agentic state' and how entering a hierarchy transforms one's sense of responsibility.
- Identify the situational levers—proximity, authority presence, institutional legitimacy, group support—that strengthen or weaken obedience.
- Recognize the binding factors and strain-resolving mechanisms that trap people in obedience.
- Cultivate group support and personal responsibility as resources for disobedience to unjust authority.
- The payoff
- The reader sees through the myth that character alone guarantees moral action and grasps the power of situations. · The reader can recognize the signs of destructive obedience in everyday institutions and resist them. · The reader values disobedience to unjust authority as a courageous, affirmative act and seeks group support to sustain it.
See our guide
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Additional reading
- The Organism · Kurt Goldstein
Maslow sources the term 'self-actualization' from Goldstein and builds upon his holistic view of the organism.
- Explorations in Personality · H. A. Murray, et al.
Cited as providing an 'excellent discussion' on the basic principle of centering motivation theory on goals rather than instigation or behavior.
- Social Interest · Alfred Adler
Maslow credits Adler and his followers for stressing the importance of the 'esteem needs,' which he felt were neglected by Freudian psychoanalysts.
- Wisdom of the Body · W. B. Cannon
Provides the foundational concept of 'homeostasis,' which Maslow uses as the starting point for his discussion of physiological needs.
- Multipliers · Liz Wiseman
Explores how leaders can either amplify ('multiply') or diminish ('diminish') the intelligence and capabilities of their teams, a key concept for creating a positive, low-anxiety environment.
- The Fearless Organization · Amy Edmondson
Provides the foundational research and practical steps for creating psychological safety, which the book identifies as crucial for reducing interpersonal anxiety and encouraging people to speak up.
- Mindset · Carol Dweck
Explains the difference between a 'growth mindset' and a 'fixed mindset,' which is presented as a key tool for helping employees manage perfectionism and see failures as learning opportunities.
- Crucial Conversations · Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, et al.
Recommended as a resource for employees to learn how to navigate difficult, high-stakes conversations, directly addressing the book's theme of moving from conflict avoidance to healthy debate.
- Better Allies · Karen Catlin
The author is quoted on specific, actionable steps for allyship, making her book a practical guide for implementing the principles in Chapter 7.
- Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People · Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
Explains the science of implicit bias, which is central to the book's argument that leaders need to be proactive allies because 'not being racist/sexist' isn't enough.