Where there’s light there’s darkness… When people from childhood onward learn only about following the rules that are handed down to them, even if on a silver platter; that not pertaining to the rules is followed by severe punishment; and that questioning the rules actually is out of the question…they would necessarily feel tempted to break those rules.
In other words: When as a grown-up one still does not feel to be the master of one’s life and the decisions in it; when you haven’t learned to think for yourself, look at consequences and ask about good or bad, why and for whom – you will look with awe at those who do. With some admiration perhaps.
And eventually people will either start following an apparently strong “leader” – or they will feel urged to break all the rules ever imposed upon them – and become what Schiller in his epic poem “The Bell” called “mankind in its fury” (“…der Mensch in seinem Wahn.”).
To become a truly responsible and self-confident civilian, a member of a democracy, to my mind the awareness of self-management, of being in charge of one’s life and taking responsibility for one’s actions, is crucial.
Otherwise people will repeat those patterns – and we will see hate and lack of self-esteem erupting into fights and killing, over and over again.