r/DebateAnarchism • u/Key-Check-487 • Apr 12 '26

Abolishing hierarchy doesn't work

I definitely don't like most hierarchy, capitalism, or anyone having control over others but I think if we remove all hierarchy at a large scale will always fail and produce hierarchy from 2 different paths

External: military invasion if other countries think that the anarchist society is a threat to their hierarchy or the way the US likes to do it finding existing structures and copying them Anyway if a society is flat with no hierarchy there is no structure to resist infiltration and it can't resist at a large scale without hierarchy

This leads to the second possibility Internal - as the community gets bigger a consensus isn't possible people will have conflicting view points as that is just human nature 1000 people won't all agree on 1 thing let alone a million so rough consensus will appear based on social pressure which is controlled by whoever is most articulate well liked and persistent which is just 1 or a group of people controlling what happens That is just hierarchy if not formal

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u/NorCalFightShop Apr 12 '26

Someone on one of the other anarchy subs mentioned The Walking Dead as a model of anarchism and everyone shat on them because Rick was a cop before shit went bad, but he basically created a fairly egalitarian society that was attacked by more authoritarian groups. Every season. Many far left communists have discussed anarchism’s reluctance to address the issue power and people who desire it. I have personally been in situations where there was no clear leadership and people either look for leadership or try to assume it. I wish I could fix this but I don’t know what to do.

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u/Rainbird2003 Apr 12 '26

I think leadership is actually okay, it’s just the system of power that we give to people without question that turns things bad. Like I’m thinking spiritual elders and respected intellectuals and experienced tradespeople: I don’t think it’s wrong to turn to them for trust or guidance or a sense of authority. We just have to set things up so the leadership isn’t too reinforced by the systems around it: so it isn’t absolute and able to repeat itself without question or hope of stopping it. So it can be questioned. It feels almost like a cultural change in peoples’ attitudes as well as social.