The Master/Slave Relationship: Obedience and Its Effects on Society

When you hear the word "slave", what comes to mind? Is it American slavery, one of the darkest moments in United States history? Perhaps the slavery of the Hebrew people immortalized in the Holy Bible and romanticized in the movie "The Ten Commandments" comes to mind. Regardless history has not been kind to the word "slave". The very concept of a slave, a human being that is the "master" of another human is completely taboo and yet we are unaware that it occurs to all of us on a smaller level everyday. When we meet someone that intimidates us and fear takes over, that person now has some sort of control over our actions. Is this not the same conditions that allow slavery to occur? This relationship has been studied by many but understood by few. Some scientists believe it may be pheromones that cause this effect to occur; others believe an innate desire to fit into an identity role causes this. We will explore the "master-slave relationship" and see its profound effects on society.

Our first encounter with the master-slave relationship is undoubtedly with our parents. When looking at a child and his/her parents, it is obvious to see why a child would obey its parents. The child is helpless, it needs the parent to feed, house and protect them. However, most adults need not fear this and yet they commonly refuse to disobey their parents. It has been theorized that this relationship passes on to other aspects of our life and changes the way we interact with society. For example, the fear that one has toward their supervisor often goes beyond being afraid of termination. Authority and fear seems to go