The well being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take In developing and su

The well-being of a society is important as the prosperity of a country is largely dependent on it. Some people argue that one good way to enhance/ improve social welfare is that people in a society have the propensity to question authority. In my opinion, I mostly agree with this suggestion, and I will present two points to support my argument. However, I also concede that in some extreme cases, these proposals might backfire and might have some negative impact on society.
First of all, many advances that fundamentally transmute a society are possible because people question authority or the establishment. For instance, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a famous human rights activist in the 1960s, voiced his concern and query to the authorities concerned when he saw racial inequality still rampant in his society. Similarly, Rosa Park, another renowned civil rights activist, also questioned people who were in power at that time over the discriminated law when she was asked to give up her seat. The social advances that happened later are only possible since people who are not satisfied with the status quo and questioned authority. This phenomenon is not limited in the social science sphere. It also takes place in the field of statistics. Ronald Fisher, the father of the contemporary statistics, once was suppressed by his fellows as his treatise questions the prevailing view on statistics at that time. Adamant in his belief that his theorems is right, he established another school of thought in statistics and lay the solid foundation for modern statistics. These examples show that many advances that change society or a field happen because people question authority.
Secondly, that people question authority is also a way of asking the accountability of people who are in power. It serves as a check on power, and most of the time, reforms are introduced because people question things. Take Occupy Wall Street, for instance. It is a social movement in response to the mishandling of financial crisis in 2008. People were dissatisfied with how government and the corporate bank got away with their responsibility when their malfeasance sank the economy. Since people question authority by protesing in wall streets, reforms regarding rigorous financial regulations were introduced. Similarly, people raise their questions to intelligence community when they learned that U.S. government conducted mass surveillence on U.S. citizens who have no clear link to oversea terrorism. The dismay and distrust of authority gave mounting pressure on the authorities concerned and give birth to clear guidelines that aimed to curb this misuse of power.

However, in some extreme cases, social progress might be stalled when people are steadfast in their belief and question authority. For instance, it is common in the United States that some people are adamant about not getting inoculated as they firmly believe in some conspiracy theories. The negative effect of that people questions authority on vaccination is not limited to these individuals. It can greatly influence the well-being of society as other people can be infected with diseases that can be prevented by vaccination otherwise.
In conclusion, that people question authority usually has beneficial impacts on a society because it is an impetus that drives social and scientific advances. It also serves as a check on power and lead to many reforms. However, in some extreme cases, it can have some negative impacts on society.