I have come to the conclusion that authoritarianism is possibly the single most evil legacy from the pre scientific universe.
The thing is, this implies that bureaucracy per se is evil. Many people will smile and say "Of course! Just look what happens; just look at the way bureaucracies stuff things up all the time!" I would certainly never deny this. Other people will weep however because they have experienced more of the deep frustration and feeling of powerlessness that corporate entities can inflict. Many more will neither smile nor weep, they will just shrug and say: "Don't bother, there is no way anybody is going to listen to you; don't waste your breath, don't waste your time trying to change things in this place because you can't beat the system."
In my opinion if we take seriously Karl Popper's explanation of the relative success of democracy then we need to put its underlying implications clearly, then start working on how to change the world!
The starkest way to say this is: Any organisation or social structure which is not overtly a democracy is, or will become, either overtly or covertly, a dictatorship.
The thing is, this implies that bureaucracy per se is evil. Many people will smile and say "Of course! Just look what happens; just look at the way bureaucracies stuff things up all the time!" I would certainly never deny this. Other people will weep however because they have experienced more of the deep frustration and feeling of powerlessness that corporate entities can inflict. Many more will neither smile nor weep, they will just shrug and say: "Don't bother, there is no way anybody is going to listen to you; don't waste your breath, don't waste your time trying to change things in this place because you can't beat the system."
In my opinion if we take seriously Karl Popper's explanation of the relative success of democracy then we need to put its underlying implications clearly, then start working on how to change the world!
The starkest way to say this is: Any organisation or social structure which is not overtly a democracy is, or will become, either overtly or covertly, a dictatorship.
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