> how badly things can go if the wrong people end up in positions of power

This is why there shouldn’t be any organization that has that much power.

Full stop.

What you described is the whole raison dêtre of Anarchism; irrespective of whether you think there’s an alternative or not*

“No gods No Masters” isn’t just a slogan it’s a demand

*my personal view is that there is no possible stable human organization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_symbolism#No_gods,_n...

Have you read Graeber & Wengrow?