Authority

Respect for authority is built into our moral foundations as a key evolutionary mechanism for facilitating group dynamics, leadership, and sexual selection.

Hierarchical social organization is closely related to authority. Some philosophers and authoritarians over-emphasize the importance of hierarchy, using the debunked [1][2] pseudoscientific concept of the alpha male to justify acting like an asshole.

Jonathan Haidt points out that progressives generally fail to make appeals to our instinct for authority, preferring to focus on justice, and see hierarchy as inherently oppressive. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to persuasion, since a large portion of the public still responds strongly to projection of authority.