I think it has it's roots in military culture. But nowadays, there's an entire sub reddit devoted to the topic. www.reddit.com/r/maliciouscompliance
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r/militiouscompliance and r/deliciouscompliance as well
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And the fascists are now using that term to explain why everything is going to shit.
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Wikipedia mentions it was big in the Soviet Union, but I can't imagine it didn't exist in ancient Rome
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I think Jesus himself recommended it (walk the second mile, turn the other cheek- two examples that come to mind) understood in their cultural context both prescribe pretty subversive behavior.
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There's an entire philosophy in Christianity called "third way" which suggests "turn the other cheek" was malicious compliance, as Romans could slap you but not strike you, so turning the other way made them break the rules. A soldier got in trouble if you carried their pack longer than one mile etc
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Depending on who you ask, "turn the other cheek" was an instruction malicious compliance.
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I also want to mention that this works very well in the workplace. It's called work-to-rule. I used it several times when I worked at a major corporate headquarters that completely undervalued me. Even on my own, it proved the point I was making rather quickly
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