The well being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority

A society is composed of two entities: the ordinary citizens and the authority – political, academic, social, religious, etc. - elected or endorsed by the former for their emancipation. Thus, as the statement contends, it is the fundamental right of public to question authority albeit with peaceful, yet effective, means which ensures the well-being of the whole society.

A society stands to benefit when people question the political authority i.e. government. Any Government is a multidimensional complex functioning entity whose decisions have a direct bearing on public life and national welfare. When people elect a government to power after, say, an economic crisis, pandemic, corruption scandal, etc.; they have certain expectations regarding healthcare, job opportunities, education and so on. When they get answers about policies and steps adopted by the government towards meeting those expectations, they get a sense of security and satisfaction. Many times, the policies embraced by the government are contrary to the priorities of the people. For example, during a pandemic the local authority may be willing to spend on a fly-over, whereas there is a severe need for a hospital. With a provision to question government authority, people can raise their concerns and critique about the government policies. This public feedback will eventually lead to the improvement of such policies in line with the problems faced by them.

The proposition can also be extended to highlight the advantages of questioning academic, religious and social authorities, etc. Advancement in knowledge is contingent upon questioning the validity of ‘established’ norms and prevalent principles i.e. through questioning authority. For instance, Ptolemy’s geo-centric model of the universe was considered an irrefutable truth by the Church and the highly related contemporary scientific fraternity because they believed that it endorses their idea of anthropocentric universe. Had Copernicus not questioned the then scientific and religious authority, he would have never been able to question Ptolemy assumptions’ and immortalized his name in History by refuting the latter’s theory. Similarly, social reforms can only be brought by challenging the relevant authorities. For example, questioning the religious and social authority in India had led to several reforms such as the abolishment of child marriage, untouchability, and ‘sati’ practice (burning of widows on funeral pyre of their husbands) in India, etc.

However, not all the methods or type of criticism of authority is productive. Firstly, the means of questioning the authority must be peaceful. In the absence of a non-violent mechanism to raise question and channelize grievances to authorities, a spate of violent protests, vandalism and destruction of state properties would result. The 1992 Los Angeles riots, a result of ostensibly questioning the legal authority responsible for acquitting the cops accused of assaulting Rodney King, is a glaring example. On the other hand, criticism must also be of constructive form to be effective. Mere expression of negative emotions against government policies in private gatherings would rarely help. Moreover, people must refrain in questioning relevant authorities on sensitive matters such as national security and defense issues as that can be exploited by the adversaries for gaining confidential information. Finally, excessive interference on trivial issues may render government functioning inefficient.

In conclusion, questioning the authorities, whether political, academic, religious or social, has manifold advantages for the well-being of the society: improvement of government policies, advancement of knowledge, social and religious reforms, etc. to name a few. However, the means of criticism should be non-violent as well as effective. Yet, people must practice some caution and restrain while questioning on confidential or trivial matters interfering with the security of the state and efficient functioning of the government.