Comment by wolframhempel

I feel that most people instinctively assume that some institution, e.g. the government or the dictionary publishers are the authority on what constitutes "correct language". It's important to emphasize that language (included spelling) is something that develops organically and that the role of these institutions is just to capture the status quo.

At least that should be the case in free societies. Language is power - and controlling it is an important aspect of exercising control.