Dumping the hierarchy

The state is like a chicken that has just had its head chopped off: it flaps and flails around in a noisy and messy display, spreading blood in its trail. But its fate has already been determined.

Into the void are arising new, informal, and relatively unstructured systems that serve the interests of those who choose to associate with them – rather than the dying practice of conscripting people into the service of institutions. The decentralized nature of the emerging social systems is well-reflected in the words of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Shirin Ebadi. She described the organizational model that has been successfully used by Iranian feminist groups in these words: “They are very strong. Their approach is unique because they have no leaders. They do not have a head or branch offices. . . . The movement is made even stronger by not having leaders. If one or two people lead it, the organization would weaken if these leaders were arrested. Because there is no leader, it is very strong and not stoppable.” Such is the emerging model in which liberty and variability will flourish in a decentralized world. [My emphasis]

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