Obedience Without Command: The Silent Authority of Predictive Systems

Abstract

This article investigates the paradox of obedience without command in predictive societies. Authority, once tied to explicit orders and visible command structures, is now embedded in syntactic operations that organize compliance without issuing instructions. Obedience Without Command explores how predictive systems generate silent authority, where rules are followed not because they are commanded, but because their form leaves no alternative. Through case studies of financial reporting, automated governance, and predictive scoring, the paper develops a framework to understand authority that operates without decisionmakers, and obedience that emerges without command. Acknowledgment / Editorial Note This article is published with editorial permission from LeFortune Academic Imprint, under whose license the text will also appear as part of the upcoming book Syntactic Authority and the Execution of Form. The present version is an autonomous preprint, structurally complete and formally self-contained. No substantive modifications are expected between this edition and the print edition. LeFortune holds non-exclusive editorial rights for collective publication within the Grammars of Power series. Open access deposit on SSRN is authorized under that framework, if citation integrity and canonical links to related works (SSRN: 10.2139/ssrn.4841065, 10.2139/ssrn.4862741, 10.2139/ssrn.4877266) are maintained. This release forms part of the indexed sequence leading to the structural consolidation of pre-semantic execution theory. Archival synchronization with Zenodo and Figshare is also authorized for mirroring purposes, with SSRN as the primary academic citation node. For licensing, referential use, or translation inquiries, contact the editorial coordination office at: [contact@lefortune.org]

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