The Policeman's Authority
IllustrationAnalogy★★★WHEN a policeman stands and directs traffic, as they put up a hand, cars will stop. But the cars do not stop because of the policeman’s power. They stop because of the policeman’s legal authority. That blue uniform makes him superman. He can’t put out his hands and physically stop a line of cars from running over him, but when he puts out his hands, cars stop because the blue uniform, with the badge, gives him legal authority. That legal authority does what personal power can’t. He doesn’t have the power to stop the traffic, but he has the authority to stop the traffic. The officer is backed up by a department that backs him up.
The point
A policeman directing traffic has no personal power to stop cars, only the legal authority his uniform and badge represent — an image of authority that works even without personal force.