Let's Talk Hierarchy & Anarchy

Hierarchy is a system of organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status and authority. Socioeconomic systems are stratified into a social hierarchy. Most religions operate as hierarchies. Nations have governments that are hierarchical. Research has shown that all collections of humans (or animals) begin to organize themselves into relative levels of status and power (pecking order) within a few minutes of meeting; it seems inevitable.

Is it possible to have a community with no hierarchy of any kind? Anarchism is a political theory, which aims to create a society within which individuals freely co-operate together as equals. A popular understanding of anarchism is as a violent, anti-State movement. Those with a vested interest in preserving the status quo like to imply that opposition to the current hierarchical system cannot work in practice, and that a new form of society can only lead to chaos. What are your thoughts on that?

Anarchists wish to create a society based upon individual freedom and voluntary co-operation. Many anarchists hold that the private ownership of land, capital, and machinery has had its time and that it is condemned to disappear and that all requisites for production must, and will, become the common property of local societies. Such Anarchism is sometimes called Libertarian Socialism, distinctly different from Democratic Socialism currently being espoused by Presidential Candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders.

Anarchists are opposed to capitalism, seeing it based upon oppression and exploitation. Anarchists reject the notion that people cannot work together unless they have a driving-master to take a percentage of their product. What are your thoughts about anarchy as an alternative form of organization?

The world we live in today is unstable. We face the possibility of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, viral outbreaks, power outages, water shortages, and on and on. Recent disasters have shown that the government can’t protect us all and that in order to survive we may need to take our fate into our own hands. Do you agree or disagree? We want to hear your thoughts on these ideas.

Join Paul Reffell, Robin Carpenter and Bernie Stephan on Let's Talk on KWMR this Thursday on FM 90.5 in Point Reyes Station, FM 89.9 in Bolinas, FM 92.3 in the San Geronimo Valley, streaming live on kwmr.org and on Horizon Cable at Channel 47. Then call 415-663-8492 or tweet @LetsTalkOnKWMR during the show to give us your opinions.