In a world that insists on valuing power and privilege, once given, it’s difficult to lay down. 

Maintaining positional authority or privilege results from hierarchical systems and organizational flow charts that rank individuals by skills, contribution, or value. This is how the modern world was built. The most educated, skilled, or rich were the teachers, experts, and influencers of society. Often the first to a new idea or market, they became the “self-made men” of lore. Everyone else followed in their footsteps to serve the ambitions of the privileged, business, or new ideas.

Before there was hierarchy came patriarchy. Deeply embedded within cultural values, it presumes male superiority and seeks to distinguish roles and positions based on gender, age, and other discriminatory factors to maintain authority within family and social systems. While remaining unpopular in its most extreme forms, the continued diminishing of patriarchy in society has been the focus of recent movements such as #MeToo, the 2023 movie Barbie, and the rise of a reactionary movement broadly known as the manosphere. 

The systems that built today’s world are not the ones to sustain tomorrow. Future-thinking leaders and societies learn to appreciate the rules of the past that helped establish the present-day reality. At the same time, they acknowledge their weakness in building a more sustainable and equitable tomorrow for a new generation. Embracing the tension of systems in transition is the critical task of our time. 

The brokenness of stubborn hierarchical and patriarchal systems in society is painfully obvious. Inequality of income, access to opportunity, and influence of women in business, politics, and faith communities remain. Corporations and the ultra-wealthy dictate and move economies, shape public policy, and determine the worth and value of human life by simultaneously manipulating healthcare costs and insurance availability. If there was ever a definition of a “rigged system,” it’s the failure of hierarchy-based organizations to push beyond their initial need to build, scale, and establish. Once achieved (typically early), the allure of maintaining authority creates a new culture of dysfunction and abuse.

Today, we see an increase in community-based decision-making and load-sharing. This serves as an important step in building a better tomorrow. However, the board, committee, team, or group tasked with shared ownership remains in a positional hierarchy by dictating policy and exerting authority on behalf of the rest. A representative government functions this way through elected officials to broadly legislate and execute the laws and responsibilities citizens have empowered them with. Institutions and organizations have a responsibility to adapt to changing models that create better outcomes for themselves and society.

Innovative solutions and equitable outcomes create a sustainable future and a hopeful tomorrow. Where patriarchies, hierarchies, and representative systems fall short, holistic creativity can emerge. By transcending the false standards of authority, power, and privilege, we can realize a new reality where individuals and organizations co-create and participate with equal value in smaller, sustainable communities. Recognizing meaningful contributions can come from any place, any source, and at any time. This is the beginning of building a more equitable world where everyone is valued—and privilege is devalued. 

Fading leaders and systems will naturally seek to fill the voids left in their wake. As people of tomorrow, our task is not to fall into their regressive traps by endorsing a return to past methodologies, but to paint a picture of the future with a better solution.