Years ago, while reading up on the Third Servile War, I came across an essay about the various commanders in it.
If you’re not familiar with it, the Third Servile war was one of several major slave rebellions in ancient Rome. This one was started by a group of gladiators, the most famous of whom was Spartacus.
There were others involved, of course, including other leaders: Gannicus, Crixus, Gannicus, and others. While Roman historians tended to assign a hierarchal approach to them, with Spartacus at the top, and the rest answering to him, that doesn’t seem to actually have been the case, according to this essay. There were a large number of groups, rebelling at the same time, sometimes coordinating, some just inspired by the others.
It makes the point that the Roman historians came up with this hierarchy because they simply couldn’t comprehend the idea of anyone working together without a clearly established hierarchy. Somebody must be in charge and giving orders to those beneath him.
The idea of several different people, or different groups of people, having similar purposes born out out similar ideology, and cooperating when it suits their purposes and working on their own when it doesn’t was completely foreign to them.
I think modern Republicans have a similar mentality and blind spot. That’s why they are so insistent on identifying the “leaders” of antifa. They can’t comprehend so many people being opposed to fascism unless someone is giving them orders.
It also explains the lack of comprehension of resistance to trump: In their minds, he’s the president, therefore it’s our duty to obey him. The idea of checks and balances and the branches of government, let alone the people, being co-equals just doesn’t add up. The president is in charge, and it’s congress’ job to obey him. That’s why they keep repeating things like “A judge can’t overrule a president!” Because, to them, the one at the “top” must be in charge.
It’s not stupidity per se, it’s just a completely authoritarian way of thinking, and the hubris to believe that their way of thinking is the only way there can be.