Tales of light and darkness: a response to comments on The Ordinal Society

We respond to four reviews of The Ordinal Society. We argue that traditional (and, as our critics point out, much-needed) forms of resistance and collective action are difficult to mobilize against ordinal systems, for two reasons. First, people often find these systems irresistible in use. Second, they operate in a decentralized manner, bypassing subjectivity (and thus the need for persuasion) to directly mold individual behavior. We also agree with our critics that the concentration of power among wealthy “self-organization men” who can manipulate these systems and mobilize armies of followers may facilitate highly personal, authoritarian forms of political rule.

Duke Scholars

Author Kieran Healy Sociology