Memes

But that's not different from how Marxist organization works. Nobody is forced to accept authority. Leaders are voted on, and they can be recalled. What people do have to agree to is that once a decision was made democratically, then that's the path that has to be followed, and people who wanted to do something different have to accept that they lost the argument, and help pull in the same direction as everyone else.

It's also worth recognizing that power structures will form implicitly even under flat organization. The key difference is that when they form in this fashion it happens unintentionally and without the checks and balances you'd have if you planned them. You end up with narcissistic and charismatic people naturally gravitate into positions of power, and this often turns into abuse. This is a great read on real life experience of somebody who ended up in precisely this sort of situation https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm

The organic hierarchy I was talking about is even more basic, the one you find in your own body. You have cells that organize into organs, organs organize into organ groups, you have a central nervous system, and a brain. And every complex organism finds a similar solution. There is a physical reason for this because thermodynamics select for efficient use of energy, and hierarchical organization beats every alternative. Billions of years of evolution and natural selection found a workable blueprint.

And yes, negative examples can be found within any organizational structure. As the example above shows, anarchist methods of organizing do little to prevent abuse from happening, and in many ways actually invite it.

To me, the key aspects of a workable system are that representatives are elected through a democratic process, and that they can be recalled. The checks and balances in the system are how you deal with abuse.