I mentioned in another comment that Duncan’s role seems to be “upholding policies that were agreed upon by group consensus and running them for a limited time”; this does seem like it’s pretty distant from both rampant individualism and one-person-in-charge-of-everything to me.
I’m not sure of how to interpret your referenced comment; you seem to be talking about the “old model” being “cults”, but I don’t know what you mean by cults—I interpret a “cult” to be something like “a small group rallied around a charismatic leader with absolute authority”, but I don’t think that has been the predominant mode of social organization at any point in history?
I interpret “cult” as applicable to both small and large groups and not dependent on whether the leader has charisma or not (It could also refer to small tribes with chieftains, dictatorships, absolute monarchies, etc.). And I think in this regard it has been the predominant mode of social organization throughout history.
But after seeing Scott’s “on fourth thought” I have been more convinced that Duncan has been moving in the direction of placing limits on his power and making sure the appropriate safe-guards are in place, which has updated me away from seeing the pendulum as swinging too far in the opposite direction. I think the question remains whether or not continued updates and iterations will involve further limitations on his authority.
I mentioned in another comment that Duncan’s role seems to be “upholding policies that were agreed upon by group consensus and running them for a limited time”; this does seem like it’s pretty distant from both rampant individualism and one-person-in-charge-of-everything to me.
I’m not sure of how to interpret your referenced comment; you seem to be talking about the “old model” being “cults”, but I don’t know what you mean by cults—I interpret a “cult” to be something like “a small group rallied around a charismatic leader with absolute authority”, but I don’t think that has been the predominant mode of social organization at any point in history?
I interpret “cult” as applicable to both small and large groups and not dependent on whether the leader has charisma or not (It could also refer to small tribes with chieftains, dictatorships, absolute monarchies, etc.). And I think in this regard it has been the predominant mode of social organization throughout history.
But after seeing Scott’s “on fourth thought” I have been more convinced that Duncan has been moving in the direction of placing limits on his power and making sure the appropriate safe-guards are in place, which has updated me away from seeing the pendulum as swinging too far in the opposite direction. I think the question remains whether or not continued updates and iterations will involve further limitations on his authority.