Communities #210 (Spring 2026) Leadership, Democracy, and Autocracy

Volume 2026 - Issue 1

Communities #210, Spring 2026, Leadership, Democracy, and Autocracy, explores how communities address questions of authority, influence, governance, and power. Stories trace the heydays and falls of three different charismatic leaders whose groups’ identities were deeply intertwined with their own. On the other end of the spectrum, authors describe cooperative projects where no one was “in charge” and in fact nothing was compulsory, but everything got done. Articles depict decision-making systems spanning the spectrum from committed egalitarianism with no hierarchy, to merit- and seniority-weighted influence, to power concentrated in a small group. We discuss different versions and adaptations of consensus, the impacts of landlord-tenant dynamics, and what a community’s attitude toward disagreement and conflict says about its social health and long-term viability. We also hear about one group which slid from democracy toward autocracy, melted down, then ultimately recovered its democracy—both a cautionary tale and inspiring proof that the road to oligarchy and kakistocracy does not need to be one-way or forever.

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