Ask why you can't lift an innocent finger without permission, and your lack of the simplest reasoning power baffles them. One must always have a permit; how else could the authorities maintain the social order? In every instance, that will stop you. There is no other way by which Authority can maintain a social order. The tragedy of the Old World is that this only way by which Authority can maintain a social order must inevitably destroy the social order and any form of Authority that tries to maintain it. The energy of a constantly increasing number of bureaucrats has always been subtracted from productive energy in the Old World.
The text questions the necessity of seeking permission for even the slightest actions, suggesting that this requirement undermines individual reasoning and autonomy. It highlights the idea that authority relies on permits to uphold societal order, leading to restrictions that can frustrate a person's ability to act freely. Without the ability to make choices without approval, one is left in a state of confusion regarding their own reasoning capabilities.
This reliance on permits is critiqued as a fundamental flaw of traditional authority structures, which, while aiming to preserve order, ultimately contribute to its erosion. The passage emphasizes how the growing bureaucratic systems in the Old World divert energy and resources away from productive efforts, indicating that the very mechanisms of control can lead to the downfall of the society they intend to protect.
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