A friend posted this quote on Facebook earlier today:
"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." - Albert Camus
And I was immediately reminded of this quote:
"Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way." - George S Patton
To my mind, this sums up the main difference between an egalitarian/ libertarian culture (of the type found in a network of peers) and a patriarchal/ authoritarian one (of the type found in a hierarchy based on power). The question is not about good or bad, or right or wrong - these are moral judgments rooted in the culture one belongs to, and will only affirm the "home" culture.
Both cultures are equally capable of providing the foundations to build a harmonious society, if all members of that society were to be of the same disposition. Given such homogeneity, even if the economic and political outlook of individuals were to be different, the method of resolving such differences would be clear to all - in one case based on evolution of a consensus (failing which, a majority opinion) through discourse, and in the other, based on the dictates of those who wield power.
However, in our real world both cultures co-exist in space and time (as I'd observed in an old post), albeit in different proportions in different spaces and different times. And that is why we will always have deep divisions arising out of these two very different cultures. Our best bet would be to look at the direction in which the resultant vector (weighted by the population of each of these two cultures) points at a given time, within a given society. And that means periodic negotiations leading to a moderation of conflicting views, on a continuous basis.
Tough work but such is life.
