ABSTRACT
On the whole we seem to be fairly obedient creatures. We go from day to day doing mostly – not always, of course – what is expected of us. We usually respect conventions about property and ownership, we are polite and well-mannered to our friends as a general rule, and we tend to do as we are told – by our boss, the traffic warden, the doctor, the tax inspector and so on. Why do we obey people like this? Is it because we have to? Well, clearly we risk losing our job or falling foul of the law if we don’t. But do we make this calculation every time, or do we just do what is expected because that is easiest? Or are we obeying some internal voice – our conscience – or, if we are religious, the precepts of our faith?
