The Unaccountability Machine!

𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀…

There's a modern version of this phrase inside today's corporations.

Before I say what it is, here is more context about the phrase.

When addressing the excuse "I was only following orders" or "I had no choice" (in the historical context of the Nazi era, which he lived through), Heinz von Foerster argued that making such a claim is a complete collapse of personal responsibility.

Heinz von Foerster had a foundational philosophical stance that connected the phrase to his work in second-order cybernetics - specifically, his ideas about ethics vs. morals.

He drew a sharp line between morals and ethics to explain why "following orders" is an ethical failure:

Morality is directed outward. It is about telling others what to do (e.g., "Thou shalt not"). It demands compliance and obedience, which creates the very conditions where people "just follow orders."

Ethics is directed inward. It is a reflection of how I act (e.g., "I shall not"). It requires taking absolute ownership of your actions, recognizing that the observer is always part of the system.

Because he believed that humans are active participants who construct their own reality, von Foerster completely rejected the idea that a person ever "has no choice."

To von Foerster, claiming "I had no choice" or "I was just following orders" is not just an evasion of guilt—it is a marker of profound ethical blindness.

To act ethically means recognizing that you always have a choice, and that you are personally responsible for the world your choices help create.

So, what's the modern version of the phrase?