# kaal:claim:3782193-015

**Claim.** Centralized hierarchies have at best always failed after a few centuries and usually much sooner, and the resulting chaos leaves fertile ground for reorganizing the old order, which is what the cyclical word revolution names.

**Type.** failure  **Support.** argued

**Holds when.**

- rigid centralized hierarchies viewed on a historical timescale

**Source quote.**

> At best, however, the hierar- chy has always failed after a few centuries, usually much sooner, and the resulting chaos leaves fertile ground for reorganizing the old order.

**From.** Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, *Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization* (2021), Protocol decentralization in China, page 11

**Cite as.** Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193

**Verify.** sha256 of source PDF `74df9cc9a19a098bdacd0424a4174795f6e184f7a31c8ee7541195186701ebd2` at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wulfkaal/Academic-Papers/main/papers/pdf/Calcaterra%20and%20Kaal%20-%202021%20-%20Historical%20Sketches%20of%20Centralization%20vs.%20Decentralization.pdf

**Failure mode.** Centennial collapse of centralized hierarchy  (family: recentralization-drift)

**Topics.** institutional-design, decentralization

**Keywords.** revolution, centralization, institutional-collapse, hierarchy, historical-cycles

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