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<blockquote data-quote="Henry" data-source="post: 896897" data-attributes="member: 158">Humans are communal beings (and by extension, most sentients); it follows that there is also a perceived need for authority within the community.Leaders are needed to accomplish most things beyond that which is in self-interest. &quot;self-interest&quot; can be widely defined, also including things that provoke emotional responses within us, so cases of emergencies or natural disasters can cause immediate calls to action and a low level of communal organization, but things such as long-term security or community maintenance needs leadership. Even in cases of disaster, without organization the amount of help is generally limited.Leadership in Medieval Europe developed over issues of security and power, above all else. When the breakdown of Rome occurred over a period of centuries, authority defaulted to the regional land owners. When currency became more scarce and&nbsp; worth less, and barter became more powerful, true power fell to barter, and to land ownership, and those who had physical force to ensure safety of their land. Simply put, if you owned land, you had power; hence (in a very simplified nutshell) the beginnings of the feudal system.Leaders form for the reasons you stated above, but also because in any community of over, say, 10 people, leadership tends to be a default condition. True anarchy is not a very stable state.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Henry, post: 896897, member: 158"] Humans are communal beings (and by extension, most sentients); it follows that there is also a perceived need for authority within the community. Leaders are needed to accomplish most things beyond that which is in self-interest. "self-interest" can be widely defined, also including things that provoke emotional responses within us, so cases of emergencies or natural disasters can cause immediate calls to action and a low level of communal organization, but things such as long-term security or community maintenance needs leadership. Even in cases of disaster, without organization the amount of help is generally limited. Leadership in Medieval Europe developed over issues of security and power, above all else. When the breakdown of Rome occurred over a period of centuries, authority defaulted to the regional land owners. When currency became more scarce and worth less, and barter became more powerful, true power fell to barter, and to land ownership, and those who had physical force to ensure safety of their land. Simply put, if you owned land, you had power; hence (in a very simplified nutshell) the beginnings of the feudal system. Leaders form for the reasons you stated above, but also because in any community of over, say, 10 people, leadership tends to be a default condition. True anarchy is not a very stable state. [/QUOTE]

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