People should question the rules of authority as opposed to accepting
them passively.
One of the many ideas of German philosopher Immanuel Kant is that of "Unmuendigkeit" which is the inability to question authority and simply accepting what one is told. He believed that stepping out of this situation is a crucial step in becoming a more complete human being, and ensure the movement towards democracy, away from blind tyranny. In this essay I argue in favour of questioning those in authority, firstly to prevent them from exploiting those who they yield power over, and secondly to preclude them from taking actions not in the interests of the general public.
"Democracy dies in darkness." This quote is famous for being the guiding principle of the American Newspaper Washington Post, a journal that has always seen itself at the forefront of promoting freedom of speech and questioning the actions of the wealthy and powerful. Simply accepting the rules of authority will aid the powerful in cementing their position of power and superiority, at the cost of their opponents and minorities. An illustrative example is the publishing of the "Pentagon Papers" by the aforementioned Washington Post in the 1970s, which showed the American public that several presidents had lied to the public about the then ongoing Vietnam War. Without its publishing, the most vulnerable groups such as Afroamericans, Hispanics or simply those from lower social classes would have continued to die in the forests of South-East Asia, perhaps up until today. It showcases that the questioning of authority by the general public is crucial in ensuring that the rights of everyone, including the most vulnerable groups in society, are honoured and respected.
Furthermore, it is paramount for the general wellbeing and competitiveness of a society to question their leaders so they do not become complacent in their role. History is full of empires and entire cultures that have vanished because their leaders were not sufficiently pressured into doing what is best for the general public. What Economists call a "Principle-Agent-Problem" is the situation when the objectives of the principal, or those in power are not aligned with the agents, or the general public. In order not to repeat the fate of Ancient Rome, Egypt or Imperial China, it is vital to question the motives of those who yield authority and make them prove day by day that they are worthy of their position, by doing what is best for those who they have authority over.
Finally, one may argue that an excessive lack of obedience might lead to anarchical circumstances and a dwindling societal progress. However, I believe that questioning those in power means not blindly protesting any reform undertaken, but rather monitoring leaders in their actions. In such a way chaotic circumstances with stalling progress can be precluded while ensuring leaders do not become complacant in their position.
In summary, questioning authority by the general public means stepping out of one's "Unmuendigkeit" as proposed by Immanuel Kant. This step is necessary to ensure the wellbeing of all those being governed, while keeping the powerful from abusing their position of supremacy.
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 573, Rule ID: GENERAL_XX[1]
Message: Use simply 'public'.
Suggestion: public
...ing actions not in the interests of the general public. 'Democracy dies in darkness.&...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 3, column 633, Rule ID: HAVE_PART_AGREEMENT[1]
Message: Use past participle here: 'lain'.
Suggestion: lain
...ican public that several presidents had lied to the public about the then ongoing Vi...
^^^^
Line 3, column 955, Rule ID: GENERAL_XX[1]
Message: Use simply 'public'.
Suggestion: public
...hat the questioning of authority by the general public is crucial in ensuring that the rights ...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 315, Rule ID: GENERAL_XX[1]
Message: Use simply 'public'.
Suggestion: public
...essured into doing what is best for the general public. What Economists call a 'Principle...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 352, Rule ID: EN_A_VS_AN
Message: Use 'an' instead of 'a' if the following word starts with a vowel sound, e.g. 'an article', 'an hour'
Suggestion: an
...he general public. What Economists call a 'Principle-Agent-Problem' is ...
^
Line 5, column 503, Rule ID: GENERAL_XX[1]
Message: Use simply 'public'.
Suggestion: public
...are not aligned with the agents, or the general public. In order not to repeat the fate of Anc...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 9, column 42, Rule ID: GENERAL_XX[1]
Message: Use simply 'public'.
Suggestion: public
...n summary, questioning authority by the general public means stepping out of ones 'Unmuen...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
but, finally, first, firstly, furthermore, however, may, second, secondly, so, then, well, while, in summary, such as
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 22.0 19.5258426966 113% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 5.0 12.4196629213 40% => OK
Conjunction : 17.0 14.8657303371 114% => OK
Relative clauses : 16.0 11.3162921348 141% => OK
Pronoun: 46.0 33.0505617978 139% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 78.0 58.6224719101 133% => OK
Nominalization: 11.0 12.9106741573 85% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2699.0 2235.4752809 121% => OK
No of words: 506.0 442.535393258 114% => OK
Chars per words: 5.33399209486 5.05705443957 105% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.7428307748 4.55969084622 104% => OK
Word Length SD: 3.41987296507 2.79657885939 122% => OK
Unique words: 254.0 215.323595506 118% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.501976284585 0.4932671777 102% => OK
syllable_count: 841.5 704.065955056 120% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.7 1.59117977528 107% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 7.0 6.24550561798 112% => OK
Article: 3.0 4.99550561798 60% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 3.10617977528 64% => OK
Conjunction: 5.0 1.77640449438 281% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 9.0 4.38483146067 205% => Less preposition wanted as sentence beginnings.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 17.0 20.2370786517 84% => Need more sentences. Double check the format of sentences, make sure there is a space between two sentences, or have enough periods. And also check the lengths of sentences, maybe they are too long.
Sentence length: 29.0 23.0359550562 126% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively long.
Sentence length SD: 44.7491276906 60.3974514979 74% => OK
Chars per sentence: 158.764705882 118.986275619 133% => OK
Words per sentence: 29.7647058824 23.4991977007 127% => OK
Discourse Markers: 6.88235294118 5.21951772744 132% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 4.97078651685 101% => OK
Language errors: 7.0 7.80617977528 90% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 9.0 10.2758426966 88% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 7.0 5.13820224719 136% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 1.0 4.83258426966 21% => More facts, knowledge or examples wanted.
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.129170817668 0.243740707755 53% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0443945459143 0.0831039109588 53% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0486630673166 0.0758088955206 64% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0754724324121 0.150359130593 50% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0342300361197 0.0667264976115 51% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 18.6 14.1392134831 132% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 33.58 48.8420337079 69% => OK
smog_index: 11.2 7.92365168539 141% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 15.8 12.1743820225 130% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 14.23 12.1639044944 117% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.41 8.38706741573 112% => OK
difficult_words: 139.0 100.480337079 138% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 14.5 11.8971910112 122% => OK
gunning_fog: 13.6 11.2143820225 121% => OK
text_standard: 15.0 11.7820224719 127% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Rates: 83.33 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 5.0 Out of 6
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.