[PhD Thesis] Self-organization versus hierarchical organization

Self-organization versus hierarchical organization
a mathematical investigation of the anarchist philosophy of social organization

In combining anarchist theory with mathematics, this thesis wishes to better
understand what power and hierarchy are in order to explore how we can
live without coercion. My motivation to study these concepts stems from
observing a lack of freedom in contemporary society despite a lack of obvious
coercion or clear hierarchical structure.
I divide this issue into three main research questions. What are, on
the one hand, authority and hierarchy, and, on the other hand, what are
freedom and autonomy? How does hierarchy evolve in social systems?
And how can we shift from hierarchical control to a more free social
organization? To answer these questions, I make use of social theory, anarchist
theory, complex systems theory, mathematics and computer simulations.

I distinguish several aspects of power: control, coercion, constraint, determination
and hierarchy. Defining these aspects leads to different understandings
of freedom. Internal control refers to control over your own situation,
while external control is directed towards the (whole) environment. Coercion
forces a person to do something he does not want to do, while constraint limits
a person’s possibilities. External determination, wherein one is completely
influenced by an external force, makes one vulnerable to coercion.
Determination and coercion are associated with a hierarchical structure.
In a hierarchy, each element has no more than one influence and this
influence works in only one direction. These concepts are described using
mathematical tools such as graphs and entropy in cybernetic models.

Self-organization can lead to the development of a controller. Working
together to reach your goals can lead to a higher-level system. This system
can acquire goals of its own, which can become disconnected from the goals
of the entities that created the system. The rise of such a controller can be
avoided by constantly opposing any seed of hierarchy or coercion. In this
manner, no power can grow too big. This mechanism of constant opposition
is illustrated in a simulation.

Overall, this thesis illustrates how to think in a less hierarchical way by
focusing on local coherence. In this way, there can be jointly related ideas
rather than a single, primary concept with several sub-concepts. The tension
between hierarchy and local coherence recurs throughout the thesis—in the
difference between Marxism and anarchism, in internal versus external control,
in the structural component of hierarchy, in hierarchical models versus
their non-hierarchical variants, and in human agency versus determination.