Quote: But what real authority does society have?
It's the milieu in which we find ourselves to be living. Family, neighbors, teachers when we are young, friends, etc. All the people around us have an impact for good or ill on who we become, and how we think, feel and act. I get the impression that you think that without someone hanging around to "smite" you, a person is bound to behave totally selfishly, with no regard for others just because. I disagree. We're better than that.
Further, society IS authority in that there are authority figures and institutions to enforce what the social scientists like to call "legitimate authority". Which just means that most members of a given society agree that X is in authority. So, yeah, society can "smite" you as well.
“To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?”
― Christopher Hitchens
"That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could be on so great a subject". - George Santayana
"If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed". - George Carlin
― Christopher Hitchens
"That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could be on so great a subject". - George Santayana
"If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed". - George Carlin
