RE: Filling Power Vacuums

[Blanc Weber <blancw@microsoft.com>]

From:	Vladimir Z. Nuri, filling in for Mother Theresa:

timmy, I encourage you to understand that leadership is not 
inherently evil. there are enlightened ways to lead people that
leave the group better as a whole. you just fell into the trap
of "negative leadership", the dark side of the force as you write.
imho, however, there is a light side of the force that still involves
leadership.
.................................................


Well, thank you, Master Yoda !   :>) 

Not speaking for Tim (I doubt he will answer you, anyway), but he *has*
supplied leadership.   Leaders can lead by example, and also by the
clarity of thought & ideas which they present.  I think he has quite
often supplied such qualities in his posts, and this has contributed
greatly to the atmosphere of anarchic "community". 

Speaking of leadeship, though, to "lead" implies that there is a place
to go, and that the leader is the one at the head of the pack,
indicating the proper direction (this would be the opposite of what
anarchists want, since they would be going not toward, but away from,
something).  

If leadership is defined to mean setting a course for people who lack
direction, this implies the existence of followers who are willing to be
led into places and to adopt methodologies when they don't know what
else to do; that they will follow a leader who will supply structure and
purpose to their indecisive condition.

This does place a lot of responsibility upon a leader, then, for setting
the goal, the course, and the methodology.  That's a lot of formality to
impose; too much, when you're only exchanging ideas rather than formally
setting out to accomplish something specific (like by a particular time
& date). 

Is it Time for the Revolution? 

   ..
Blanc