Is Hierarchy Good?

Is hierarchy a necessary feature of human society, or should we strive to eliminate it?

Hierarchy is everywhere. We organize workplaces, families, governments, schools, and even informal social groups around differences in authority, status, competence, and influence. Some hierarchies seem obviously useful: we expect a pilot to have authority over passengers and a teacher to have authority in a classroom. Others seem much harder to justify.

The interesting question is whether hierarchy itself is the problem, or whether the real problem is unjustified hierarchy. Perhaps some people really are better suited to lead, decide, teach, or command. But if hierarchy can be legitimate, what makes one person entitled to stand above another?

At this meetup, we'll discuss whether a genuinely good society should aim for equality—or whether some forms of hierarchy are not merely unavoidable, but desirable.

Description by ChatGPT