The love and recoil of hierarchy 

From the etymology, late 14c., jerarchie, ierarchie, “rank in the sacred order; one of the three divisions of the nine orders of angels;

We need to distinguish between at least two versions of hierarchy. A dominator hierarchy, which gives those who are perceived to be at a higher level right of domination and abuse; and a natural hierarchy.

We all know the dominator hierarchy well. The ‘superior’ person, the boss, the entitled, the autocrat, the egomaniac, the spiritually righteous, the bully. The caste system is alive and well in almost every society on Earth and lives in so many colours and textures. From a ‘skinny white woman,’ to a Vladimir Putin, to a ‘tech bro.’

If we are rigorously honest with ourselves we might even see our own love of some form of dominator hierarchy and how we have used that to advantage our own life.

Some examples of a natural hierarchy include…the atom to the molecule to the cell to the multi-cellular organ, to the human, to the community of humans, to nation states, to Earth.

Each level has higher and higher orders of complexity. 

Each level is nested. The human cannot do without the atom, the cell, or any of the elements at the lower order of the hierarchy. Each has intrinsic value. Essential to life. Yet the human in community has far greater complexity than the single human, or the atom. 

We know this from the many times we have found ourselves in the mire of broken human relationships. Add more people and it gets more and more complex. Throw in some advanced technology, and the complexity increases exponentially. Put this is a petrie dish of global trade with countries with divergent world views to ours, amp up the heat with bullying threats and nation states enacting genocide and apartheid. 

It requires some order of intelligence, spiritual and emotional maturity, life experience, a transcendence of our egoic desire to be liked, right, safe…a deep respect for all life… humility…an understanding and appreciation of how our current global systems work, and who gains and so much more. Plus the willingness and ability to be surrounded by divergent yet thoughtful perspectives and the practice of listening to these views seeking to understand. The capacity to make mistakes and own them as ours. 

This type of capacity is beyond the domain of many. It is why we revered people such as Gandhi and Mandela. Why we might admire Jacinda Adern.

Human mind and its ability to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously make us unique in nature. Not better than. But able to do incredible things, like eradicate polio. Or blow up the world. 

This is a natural hierarchy. It requires a life commitment to our own development to have the capacity and capability to willingly hold multiple perspectives simultaneously.

Another natural hierarchy is the journey from apprentice to master. Those who have spent years steeped in a subject may have an evolved ability in that area. The brain surgeon with years of experience is the person to call if you have a brain tumour. However the brain surgeon might not be the person to call if you have a problem with your spread sheet. 

This is the glory of humans, nature, systems. Natural hierarchy creates implicit order out of complexity.

Every element has intrinsic, ground value. Each living being, each human, animal, insect, creature, has its part to play in the greater whole. 

Yet each also has a greater ability in some domains. This does not make them superior. It makes the whole work synergistically.

To deny hierarchy is a performative contradiction, like saying “did you know I am dead?” The act of denying hierarchy is to impose hierarchy.

Dominator hierarchies in human systems are dangerous. To know why a person seeks to do what they can do as the dominant entity is to be better prepared to respond. And goodness knows we need to respond in far better ways than we have been doing.

To understand their worldview is to dignify them, even if we do not agree or like them. 

A steward leader who has spent years invested in their own capacity to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously is the person I would prefer to hold the nuclear codes. Not the guy who lives at an arrested ego stage of development, or the autocrat who thinks nothing of eliminating the opposition, or the leader who will eradicate another tribe to preserve his own tribe.

Each person in the above scenario has intrinsic value, a role to play, and a contribution to make, even if that contribution incentivises a collective human uprising. 

But in a world of advanced technology I would prefer the leader to be the one who has advanced their own development, has the capacity and will to sit with multiple perspectives and world views simultaneously, and work in partnership with others to make critical decisions that will impact our home planet and all her creatures.

You can call this developmental capacity and capability what you will. Levels of consciousness, maturity, wisdom, experience, worldview, emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, moral courage.

Yet it is hard to deny that when we see a global political or corporate leader operate from this capacity we sleep a little easier at night.