I absolutely agree, authority is such a wide term that it needs to be clarified. Authority can be a general appraisal of talents and used to mark personally earned respect 1/7
Example, Terry A. Davis is an authority when it comes to TempleOS. But the more general understanding is whatever has power to enact change in its enviorment 2/7
is an de facto authority. Having authority (legitimate or not) is about being able to impose your will by inflicting suffering to bend others to your will 3/7
In this sense social norms and public trails without due process works as decentralized authority that leverages its ability to keep others in submission 4/7
A value judgement is made when we say "legitimate authority" which is a proxy for social consensus and hierarchies based on enforced rules and criteria 5/7
Which hopes in theory that the authority is as close to being a proxy of genuine respectability and ability and not a pure statement of a monopoly on power 6/7
My personal phrase for degrees of Authoritarinism in an invidiudal is being accepting and supporting of any supreme power being just and a willingess to submit to it 7/7
