The perception of hierarchy is created only by like-minded individuals who serve the capitalist dream. This is, ultimately an illusion – for no one, in actual fact, is more powerful than another.
Pyramid of Capitalist System
Status, power and money are merely “labels” – they don’t mean anything but are so widely used that they become pervasive in our lives. I see this as the problem with the entrepreneurial (capitalist) spirit; it is a celebration of the selfish desire to win over others, entice and eventually normalize people from “below” to play the same game they do. Just like a direct selling game, once you’re in it – you ARE IT.
If you chose to be powerful in the capitalist sense, it is easy to do so. You merely need to follow a bureaucratic, capitalist framework and immerse yourself in the system. With experience, you will eventually have power over other people, bearing in mind that you will still be overshadowed by some other powerful figures. Why I say this is an illusion is precisely because of this – in an effort to be more dominant than others, one forgets that their ultimate adversary is themselves. This is why, my friends, I am against a capitalist world.
The world of capitalism is made up of systems which destroy whatever remains of our unique selves. The race to the top of the hierarchy is one where we try to become an embodiment of an illusory ideal commonly contributed to by everyone else.
But doesn’t this become a fulfilment of other people’s expectations of power?
Power, in this case is nothing but a social construction. It can never exist if there are none willing to be subservient to another. What we have to do is understand that we have self-worth, and that there are always acts of resistance that we can exemplify in any situation where we’re oppressed. If there are none willing to be slaves, there can be no lords.
Deliberating Politics in Malaysia 