Human history is a repetition of revolutions that seek to demolish class, followed by the act of “management” that rebuilds those very classes upon the ruins. Observing how numerous egalitarian ideologies, including Christianity, eventually revert to vertical hierarchies, we cannot help but ask: Is class an unavoidable physical conclusion that arises the moment humans gather to operate a “system,” or is it evidence of an intellectual immaturity we have yet to overcome?
Equality: The Sacrifice Demanded by the Idol of Efficiency
The moment any organization enters the realm of “management,” it adopts efficiency as its paramount value. A horizontal structure, where everyone decides and moves equally, is democratic but slow and chaotic. Conversely, a vertical structure with clear hierarchies is swift and disciplined. Here, the tragedy begins. Whether it be a religion or a state, when they seek to propagate (expand) their message to the world, they inevitably sacrifice equality on the altar of “managerial efficiency.”
The moment roles are divided into those who hold special revelation, those who possess the right of interpretation, and those who command execution, class is resurrected—whether explicitly or implicitly. Management gives birth to order, but that order always learns first how to stand above someone else’s head. Ultimately, class is a chain humanity fastens upon itself to serve the god of “efficiency.”
The Nature of Power: The Narcotic of “Specialness”
Another reason class persists is the bloated human ego. Those tasked with management may start with a sense of mission, but they soon begin to equate the “information” and “authority” they hold with their own “specialness.” This was true of the priestly classes who monopolized special revelation, and it was true of the bureaucrats who stood at the vanguard of revolutions.
They claim that class is necessary to maintain the group, but in reality, they cannot relinquish the sense of superiority that class provides. Implicit class is more cunning than explicit class. The hypocrisy of reigning behind a veil of “brothers and sisters” while hiding within actual decision-making structures and asymmetries of information is one of the ugliest cognitive distortions facing the human intellect.
Nevertheless, Why We Must Kick Away the “Ladder”
If class is unavoidable at the stage of management, should we abandon equality? The intellect must respond with a firm “No.” If class is physical gravity, then equality is the human will to fly against that gravity. Just as an airplane does not ignore gravity but uses it to soar, an intellectual being must acknowledge the necessity of management while constantly monitoring and shaking it so that it does not solidify into a hierarchy of power.
If the act of setting up a ladder and climbing upward is the essence of the intellect, then ensuring that ladder does not become a staircase of class used to trample others is the ethics of the intellect. The moment we take class for granted under the pretext that management is necessary, we regress once more into infantile thinking.
Closing Thoughts
Class—whether explicit or implicit—parasitizes every system humans create. But the moment we accept it as “unavoidable,” we relegate ourselves to being mere components of the system.
A truly awakened intellect looks directly at the desire for power hidden behind managerial efficiency. It asks: “For whom is this order intended?” and “Is this specialness truly for the public good, or for the inflation of your own ego?” The gravity of class is powerful, but as long as there are those who resist that gravity and constantly expand the horizontal square, the territory of humanity grows inch by inch. Refusing to be deceived by the convenience of management and never forgetting the sublimity of equality—that is the reason we must never cease our questioning, even within the grueling history of class.
The Intellectual Property of Min Jinseong
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