Amongst the Trotskyites equating hierarch and bureaucracy is a well-known approach. Through this trick hierarchy, personal responsibility, hard work and discipline are all equated with bureaucracy and made source of all sorts of “bad things”. Inclusive of slavery.
First of all hierarchy.
Wherever there is a communal mode of work, a relatively large group of people coming together for production or indeed for war, some form of organisation, some form of division of labour and inevitably some form of hierarchy is inevitable.
With modern production division of labour, along with it the difference in the kinds of labour and products increase. And this will go on increasing. All of these require organisation, personal responsibility, hard work and discipline-and hierarchy. Under capitalism all these assume their own characteristics stemming from the capitalist organisation of production-and war. These are inevitably oppressive to every individual involved in the process–even to the super intenders-officers core, whose job is to organise this oppression. Leaving aside these willing oppressors who are themselves oppressed by the process, and looking into what matters, that is the working people, we see that they are organised, given personal responsibility, forced to work hard and are disciplined to do the job given to them.
None of these are avoidable even when the workers assume power themselves and own the means of production and there is no one to oppress them. Organisation, personal responsibility, hard work, and discipline are part of life. What happens under socialism-communism is that, these all loose the characters these gain due to the capitalist environment. They lose their oppressive characters. They all become means of producing more and more and more and more easily to satisfy the personal and social needs of each individual and the society he/she is a part of. They all become means of each becoming better individuals through the formation of a better society.
Is there not hierarchy in the old primitive communist societies? Although they are small groups compared to us and thus the division of labour was restricted and organisation was small.
Of course there is. There is also great respect for those who are in the position of a leader. Such also were thing in the USSR of Stalin and such will be things in future under communism!
Is there not personal responsibility in the old primitive communist societies? Although they are small groups compared to us.
Of course there is. Every person, even a small child is educated to take responsibility for all their actions. And as regards hierarchy and personal responsibility, the higher the role of the individual, the more is their personal responsibility. If you have been chosen as a leader for a war party, and fail miserably, you shall find that your position in the group nose dives and you would not stand much chance of organising another war party! Such also were thing in the USSR of Stalin and such will be things in future under communism!
Is there not hard work in the old primitive communist societies? Although they are small groups compared to us and they did not have to produce any extra for the exploiters which did not exist.
Of course there is. And if you do not pull your weight, you are ridiculed and if you kept at it you are thrown out of the tribe! And this goes hand in hand with all helping the week ones, such as elders. Such also were thing in the USSR of Stalin and such will be things in future under communism!
Is there not discipline in the old primitive communist societies? Although they are small groups compared to us and they had freedom of action in plenty?
Of course there is. If you do not act your role in the hunting party or in the fields during collection or in the house, and you kept at being undisciplined you are ridiculed and ostracised and if you kept at it you are thrown out of the tribe! Such also were thing in the USSR of Stalin and such will be things in future under communism!
It is the same with the direct democracy that shall be established. To imagine direct democracy of communism without any hierarchy, personal responsibility, hard work and discipline, without each individual taking part in a hierarchy, with personal responsibility, hard work and discipline is to make direct democracy impossible. It is thus that to imagine direct democracy without centralisation is also a means of making it impossible.