Both modal and free jazz were movements that sought to push against the boundari

Both modal and free jazz were movements that sought to push against the boundaries of what was then considered “appropriate” in jazz (and music in general). The free jazz movement went about as far as you can go in this regard, removing virtually all of the “rules” that governed jazz, including the traditional roles of each instrument in the ensemble. Modal jazz kept the traditional “heirarchy” within the ensemble, but significantly “opened up” many of the other rules about “how jazz works.” These developments didn’t happen in a vaccum, of course. These developments in jazz happened at and around the same time that similar things were happening in U.S. and world history. Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman may not be the names that jump immediately to mind when we think about the social upheavals that happened in the US in the 1960s, but the things they were doing in jazz are quite parallel to the things the hippies and other social revolutionaries were doing a few years later.
The idea of removing all of the guardrails around creativity is an intriguing one. Most people I have met are attracted to the idea, they like the idea that “anything” can be art or that “art has no boundaries.” But, when you then show them art that follows that idea, they generally don’t like it. I am going to assume that very few of you find free jazz to be extremely appealing once you hear it. This is an interesting juxtaposition to me.
What about applying this “there are no boundaries” idea to society at large? Could this work? there are whole political philosophies and worldviews that are based on this idea that there should not be any hierarchies in society, that all forms of social “top-down” organization are inherently bad for humankind. What do you think about this? What do you think about the idea of organizing a society with no hierarchies? Do styles of music like free jazz give us any clues as to the desirability of the outcomes in this society?
Again, this is more of a “brainstorming” session more than anything. Please be respectful of one another’s thoughts on the matter. There aren’t really any “right” answers, here; this is more of a “thinking out loud” type of exercise.