Part 4/16:
The justification for these systems has always been the promise of upward mobility—that anyone can climb the hierarchy and gain power. But this promise is largely a myth, as the top rungs are few and hard to reach, creating a vast base of powerless individuals.
The Architecture of Power: Pyramid vs. Flat Systems
At the core, organizational architecture determines how power flows and concentrates. Traditional hierarchies resemble pyramids—they focus power at the top, making them susceptible to corruption and abuse. To challenge this, decentralized systems aim for flat architectures, where each participant acts as an equal peer, reducing points of control that could be exploited.