I. The Puzzle of Rational ObedienceWhy do individuals enforce systems that ultimately harm them? This question is often answered with moral language: ignorance, cruelty, or blind conformity. Yet such explanations are insufficient. In many cases, those who carry out orders are neither irrational nor unaware. They act within constraints, weigh risks, and make decisions that appear reasonable given their circumstances. Obedience, in this sense, is not the absence of thought. It is the result of ...