Page "Egalitarianism" Paragraph 17

The Cultural Theory of Risk distinguishes between hierarchists, who are positive towards both rules and groups, and egalitarianists, who are positive towards groups but negative towards rules.

This is by definition a form of " anarchist equality " as referred to by Berkman.

The fabric of an " egalitarianist society " is thus held together by cooperation and implicit peer pressure rather than by explicit rules and punishment.

However, Thompson et al.

theorise that any society consisting of only one perspective, be it egalitarianist, hierarchist, individualist, fatalist or autonomist, will be inherently unstable: the claim is that an interplay between all these perspectives are required if each perspective is to be fulfilling.

For instance, although an individualist according to Cultural Theory is aversive towards both principles and groups, individualism is not fulfilling if individual brilliance cannot be recognised by groups, or if individual brilliance cannot be made permanent in the form of principles.

Accordingly, egalitarianists have no power except through their presence, unless they ( by definition, reluctantly ) embrace principles which enable them to cooperate with fatalists and hierarchists.

They will also have no individual sense of direction in the absence of a group.

This could be mitigated by following individuals outside their group: autonomists or individualists.