I think the Cabal concept is especially interesting in the wider context of Valve's "self organising" culture. It doesn't seem that this structure was designed, but was emergent.
This structure is definitely not emergent, if left alone, human groups form little fiefdoms around local "lords", the hierarchy and bureaucracy of a feudal system emerges.
To have working anarcho-syndicalism is a constant fight against this mechanism.
Who decides how much anyone gets paid, and how many virtual crystal gold smileys someone gets for doing what he currently does?
How many golden-smileys do you have to have on your shoulder to influence that decision?
I remember reading that Valve's internal structure nowadays is lords of fiefdoms even if they communicate externally that it's not. The only difference from other companies is that there's no org chart saying who the lords are, you have to discover that yourself.
