# Government does not need to be the source of a trusted hierarchy People often assume that government must be the source of a trusted hierarchy. It’s true that governments are the only hierarchy that can be imposed by force. However, trusted hierarchies exist within companies, communities, and [[Even open source projects have coordination and hierarchy]]. Is there reason why these voluntary hierarchies can’t be scaled up (at least temporarily?) The assumption that government needs to be the source of trusted hierarchy may be a psychological hangover from the past. [[During World War II the US government successfully provided a trusted hierarchy]]. <!-- #evergreen --> [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Government+does+not+need+to+be+the+source+of+a+trusted+hierarchy) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Government+does+not+need+to+be+the+source+of+a+trusted+hierarchy)