this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2026
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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

I am pro-decentralization but the problem I always come to is education: education is inherently a power discrepancy where on person must teach another something. Some people are just bad at teaching, so leaving education in the hands of just anyone means you end up with less educated population, and a less educated population can't be counted on to be independent enough to be a reliable citizen that can contribute competently, which perpetuates the cycle even further if the uneducated are expected to teach the uneducated. Flat structure is a noble goal, but I'm not sure we'll ever truly be able to escape power discrepancies existing at all. Children are simply at mercy of the people educating them. Like you said, power corrupts, and plenty of people use that power over children toward selfish and controlling ends.

[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

There are always going to be differences in power in human relations, I am a big strong bear boi, if I am in a relationship with a scrawny little nerd, I could beat him up.

We need a world that recognizes this reality and does everything possible to ensure that there is a very low limit to the amount of power that a single person can accumulate.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

We need a world that recognizes this reality and does everything possible to ensure that there is a very low limit to the amount of power that a single person can accumulate.

And how do you achieve that in a flat structure? That's basically relying on local communities to all be self-correcting which feels to me like that hippie shit "why can't we all just hold hands and get along." Oh I don't know because some people are going to grow up into Nazis and I am not sure that in itself is a solvable problem about humanity.

Small communities are more likely to make exceptions for people they know closely. Like church groups absolving abusive men in the clergy and grouping around them to pray for them. Groups allowed to self police rarely police themselves successfully.

So to me it sounds like you need power structures to help control the populace and stop them from doing that, and power structures invite corruption.

[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 1 points 3 months ago

And how do you achieve that in a flat structure?

Through a social revolution. I do not believe that a flat structure can ever be built by a hierarchical structure, because those in power will always cling on to their power. Power corrupts. Anarchism recognizes and takes this fact into account in how we achieve our aims, rather than denying the realities of human nature.