The practice or condition of lacking a leader or head, especially in an organization or society where people deliberately reject centralized authority.
From Greek 'a-' (without) + 'kephale' (head) + '-ism' (system or doctrine). The term emerged in political theory to describe anarchistic or non-hierarchical systems, combining ancient Greek roots with modern political terminology.
Acephalism appears throughout history in surprising places—medieval peasant revolts sometimes organized without formal leaders, and modern organizations like Wikipedia and open-source software communities often function as acephalisms where no single person controls decisions.
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