I think you're assuming I mean "there are no fast and hard rules, period", when I mean "the structure of each group is mostly up to what the internal community decides is best".

There is no system that is perfect, but we've had the entirety of human history to show that authoritarian systems are consistently bad for the humans, like flesh between the cogs. I'd much rather a web of communities in solidarity and negotiation, using their collective knowledge to forge onward.