Hierarchy

Nature tends to form hierarchies wherever it requires efficiency to occur. Therefore, it is not particularly unnatural for humans to use the same form when trying to organize to solve big problems.

Hierarchies can be seen in all biomass, starting from basic cellular structures and plant life, and all the way to our own cardiovascular and nervous systems. Since humans are much more conscious of their experience than individual cells, they really struggle when caged in positions that steal their agency.

We don’t like being put in boxes. We prefer to maximize our growth and creativity.

We lust for independence, autonomy and agency. Or at the bare minimum, safety, and dignity.

Unjust

Hierarchies tend to widen the range of perceived agency that each level in the hierarchy feels. People at the top have high agency. People are the bottom have low agency.

Moreover, people can reach the top without having deserved it, and people that deserve it can get stuck at the bottom.

Rigidity

Given that hierarchies typically serve a higher purpose, they tend to prefer collective efficiency over individual agency. This gives them a high tendency of crystallization and subsequently, stagnation.

Conflict of Interest

Once hierarchies grow large enough, members at different ranks quickly lose sight of each other’s needs… even if they have the best intentions for one another. This is because the nature of their experiences grows apart and becomes quite unrelatable; translating into conflicts of interest.