I don't think we basically disagree and I didn't mean to sound contentious, so sorry if I did. They/we--"people"-- it seems are deeply influenced by perceived authority.
I think the characterization of "uncaring" isn't right, either though, for most people here and now, or back then. In your example, say, of Milgram, I, like everybody, am struck by how many subjects went along with hurting others, but also that there was an ethical process. Most who did had to be repeatedly egged-on by the authority figure in the experiment to go to the point of causing others real harm.
in the end, your point that people are misguided, manipulated and controlled by authority and propaganda is to me, the most salient and relevant.
Edit/PS: Interestingly, one of the most unusual and strongly independent--i.e., unwilling to harm others--subjects in Milgram was a German woman who had lived through the Nazi regime and been exposed to some of the most intense intimidation/propaganda.
I think some people who have been hurt badly just don’t want to inflict pain on others. It’s a great takeaway from a harsh lesson like that. I wish it wasn’t so unusual.
I didn’t read the Milgram study but it sounds similar to one they did in a University, with electric shocks for wrong answers. Didn’t turn out so well.
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