Each individual possesses a conscience which to a greater or lesser degree serves to restrain the unimpeded flow of impulses destructive to others. But when he merges his person into an organizational structure, a new creature replaces autonomous man, unhindered by the limitations of individual morality, freed of humane inhibition, mindful only of the sanctions of authority.

It is easy to ignore responsibility when one is only an intermediate link in a chain of action.

The essence in obedience consists in the fact that a person comes to view himself as an instrument for carrying out another person's wishes and he therefore no longer regards himself as responsible for his actions.

It may be that we are puppets-puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation. (1974)

Only in action can you fully realize the forces operative in social behavior. That is why I am an experimentalist.

For a person to feel responsible for his actions, he must sense that the behavior has flowed from the self.

Perhaps the challenge is to invent the political structure that will give conscience a better chance against authority.