There is a pattern that repeats itself every time a society tries to get rid of an exaggeration: instead of finding the middle ground, it tends to shoot for the opposite exaggeration. It's the pendulum effect, and it explains much more than clock physics.
In the pendulum effect, when something is at one extreme, for example total pressure, the reaction tends to go strongly to the other extreme, the complete absence of what was oppressing. The pendulum does not stop at the center. It crosses the center with the same energy that took it to the other end.
Bakunin and total abolition
The case that illustrates this most clearly, within what the lesson covers, is that of the Russian thinker Mikhail Bakunin, author of an incomplete work called God and the State. Bakunin saw the State and religion as instruments of domination, entities that enslave the individual. For him, true freedom would only be possible with the abolition of the State and any form of institutional authority.
It's an extreme position, and it's worth recognizing what motivates it: a genuine reaction against what Bakunin saw as oppressive authority, both on the throne and at the altar. The problem is not outrage. It's the fate that outrage meets when it finds no place to rest.
What happens when the pendulum passes the center
Without a legitimate government, the power vacuum can be filled by violent forces, again resulting in oppression, but of a different kind.
As with any pendulum movement, going from one extreme to the other can lead to instability. Without any authority, there is a risk of chaos and disorganization. And where there is a vacuum, someone fills it, almost never in the kindest way.
This is what happens in many revolutions: the people free themselves from a tyrant and, in the process, end up creating another. The fall of an illegitimate power does not guarantee, in itself, that what comes after is legitimate. Sometimes it's just the same problem with a new face.
The question that the pendulum leaves open
Bakunin's vision is, rather, a radical reaction, a pendulum movement against oppressive power. But the big question that remains, and which is worth bringing to any discussion about reforms and ruptures, is this: will eliminating all authority solve the problem, or just restart it?
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See recommended readingsFrequently asked questions
What is the pendulum effect, applied to ideas?
It is the tendency that, when something is at one extreme, for example total pressure, the reaction to that extreme goes forcefully to the opposite extreme, the complete absence of what is being fought. It is not a movement towards balance, it is the exchange of one exaggeration for another.
How does Bakunin illustrate this effect?
In God and the State, Bakunin reacts against the oppression he saw in the State and religion by seeking the extreme opposite: the total abolition of any authority, including institutional authority. For him, both God and the State would only exist at the expense of individual freedom.
What is the risk of eliminating all authority?
Without legitimate authority, the power vacuum tends to be filled by violent forces, which again results in oppression, but of a different kind. It is the pattern that is repeated in many revolutions: the people free themselves from a tyrant and, in the process, end up creating another.
Go deeper: God and the State, by Mikhail Bakunin · Conviction or fear: the line between authority and power · Educating in virtues, the middle way · Caravaggio and the Vocation of Saint Matthew
Source class (YouTube): 1984, de George Orwell (NousCast)