thread: 2009-07-26 : Very Briefly about Authority
On 2009-07-27, cc wrote:
Perhaps if an example were given of what alternatives you propose to "the brute assignment of authority" this would make more sense, but at present I'm not seeing how this is a point worth making.
Of course moment-to-moment assent is "fundamental", but its also often insufficient, for which purposes we appoint formal authorities as tie-breakers, and to avoid having all action hamstrung by endless negotiation.
You sort of acknowledge this when you agree that one players authority may be promoted at the "expense" of anothers, but don't seem to acknowledge that this may be a beneficial outcome. It is not only the content of play which can carry moment-to-moment assent, but the existence of a formal authority can also gain such consent - even in cases where it is apparently not in the (immediate) interests of another player.
But that is only an apparent conflict, and doesn't seem to account for cases of partial or special knowledge. Moment-to-moment assent to all acts seems to imply perfect knowledge and perfect consensus on the part of all the participants. When either perfect knowledge or perfect consensus fail to manifest, the formal authority can keep things on track; and that could, in fact, be the best outcome for all the participants real interests.
