ABSTRACT
Obedience to rules is a freely given act of the will among equals. The purest form of relationships among equals exists in social play. In any play-form of sociation there will be differences of skill, energy, effort, and will. The sociological function of play is to teach people to be equal by subordinating ourselves to the rules which are self-imposed and adjudicated by agreement. If the dangers of equality in "leveling down" are great, so too are the dangers of superiors confusing their wishes with principles of social order equally great. Enough has been said about mystification as source of social integration to make this clear. Superiors are jealous guardians of mysteries whose rituals are sacred because they are believed to create and sustain social order. There are perversions of equality as there are in relations between superiors and inferiors. But this does not mean that there is no need for equality or that authority can function without equality.
