In chapter 1 of Authority and the Individual, Russell talks about human instinct and how even back when human were evolving to what they are today, these instinct do not change. It is human nature to create a group where you define yourself to be in, that is your “family” and everyone else that is different from you are considered enemies. Russell argues that the usage of fear as a form of power to make people with your group to obey. People’s fear of enemies make their loyalty to their own group more stronger. It is a argument that I agree with because fear can be used to stimulate loyalty either by people within your group or your enemies. When people feel their beliefs are threat, they work together to get rid of that threat. People have a strong form of identity which often lead to conquests, proving your groups’ beliefs are correct and not the other. Fear is essential for the development of groups, it is the one of the reason why there are different groups because people fear of being changed.
“Social cohesion, which started with loyalty to a group reinforced by the fear of enemies, grew by processes partly natural and partly deliberate until it reached the vast conglomerations that we now know as nations… From those early days down to modern times war has been the chief engine in enlarging the size of communities, and fear has increasingly replaced tribal solidarity as a source of social cohesion.” (Russell 5)
Wenne Zheng