I don't think the UK (for one) is especially hierarchical. For instance, people in the modern UK (as opposed to in Agatha Christie novels) are usually referred to by their first names. And still a Chinese friend of mine told me he found English people to be unusually polite, moreso than Americans or Chinese. The way I understand English manners is that they're based on expressing sensitivity for other people, not hierarchy.

And in English, you don't have the T/V distinction. In languages which do have one, it's impossible to talk to someone without implying something about their relative social status.