Hierarchical Organization in SocietyÉdition 1

This title was first publiished in 2000: A hierarchy is an organization system that is structured in a treelike manner, with levels of status or authority stacked one above the other. The classical and best known example of a hierarchy is probably the typical diagram that describes the structure of a company or business, also known as the corporate ladder. This text argues that hierarchies are one of the most important concepts we have in order to understand the world around us, and looks at hierarchies in a wide variety of areas of interest to everybody, such as companies, educational systems, transport systems, retail stores, corporations, communities, population migrations, medical systems, and many other real-world phenomena. From a Canadian perspective, the text examines these hierarchies and their effects at a variety of scales. It discusses how to understand the system around us and the ones in which we are immersed every day. The central theme is that it is possible to get a better grip on the past, present and future of the world, if it is viewed through an understanding of hierarchies.