People assume trust requires authority. It doesn't. It requires consequences. In institutional settings, trust is really just suspended judgment. You trust the FDA because you can't verify drug safety yourself. You trust the bank because you can't audit the ledger. This isn't trust. It's dependency dressed up as confidence. Actual trust looks different. It's relational, repeatable, and accountable. You trust someone because their actions have consequences, for them, not just for you. Reputation in small communities works this way. You can't fake it long without paying a cost. What I've seen in decentralized communities is people trying to rebuild that kind of trust without the authority overhead. Sometimes it works. Often it breaks, because they replace authority with popularity, which is worse. Influence without accountability is just soft authority with no brakes. The hard part isn't removing authority, but building consequence.