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It comes from a time when authority was authority and as a kid you did what you were fucking told (within reason.) I think this is generally an okay thing, but obviously some adults will abuse it, just as some kids will abuse the current atmosphere. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

I dunno about that. Around may way teachers hitting me was a no-no. HOWEVER there was still no room for abuse on my part, as negative feedback from a teacher was often sufficient indication that a foot needed to be placed dead in my ass. What parents need to do is make sure the kids understand this, and if they don't, make sure the kids understand this (usually though insertion of said foot.)

Thus, I don't understand a parent let somebody else hit their kid.

My father believed that punishment was best dealt swiftly. He didn't like it when Mom said, "wait till your father gets home." He wanted her to beat ass RIGHT THEN if it was justified. He felt the same way about school, church, whatever. If you fucked up you needed to get punished right there, right then, in whatever way the local authority deemed appropriate. He may or may not explain to you what you did wrong later, but he only wanted to punish what he actually witnessed. Don't get me wrong, if he got home and Mom started complaining you were getting some belt, but that wasn't his ideal situation. He felt that delayed punishment served to confuse the issue and the loss of immediacy let the kid feel like they got away with something, even for a little while.

To him it wasn't about ownership, it was about conditioning.

See I'm not sure your father would disagree with me. Based just on what you just said, he obviously felt that he or your mother should do it. Not the teacher.

No. I was very explicit about that; the punishment should come from whatever authority figure witnessed the act, and take whatever form they felt was appropriate.

In his worldview, if you saw something wrong happening you had an intrinsic right, even a duty, to correct it immediately yourself. Whether this meant helping to carry an old lady's bags, attacking a mugger, or spanking one of his kids acting like an idiot, he saw no difference.

In the world I live in nobody would ever stop a mugging, help an old woman with her groceries, or pretend to give a shit about anyone's kids.

Same here, actually. That was my original point; that it all stems from an old-fashioned mindset.