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Imagining the grassroots community - the basic unit of the world commune

category international | miscellaneous | opinion / analysis author Saturday August 03, 2013 15:23author by Ilan S. - AAtW, A-Infos, ex-Matzpenauthor email ilan.shalif at gmail dot comauthor address Tel Aviv Report this post to the editors

It is clear that the multi-level direct democracy of the world commune will be based on the grassroots communities, in whose members' assemblies the decisions will be arrived at and from where the delegates to the higher levels of organizations will be nominated. However, the details that the whole is combined from have been gone into mainly in fiction literature only.
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Imagining the grassroots community - the basic unit of the world commune


It is clear that the multi-level direct democracy of the world commune will be based on the grassroots communities, in whose members' assemblies the decisions will be arrived at and from where the delegates to the higher levels of organizations will be nominated. However, the details that the whole is combined from have been gone into mainly in fiction literature only.

As the basics of human nature were developed during our long, long prehistory in small communities labeled "tribes", the grassroots community will - among other components - have to answer these needs. From this, and the need to be not too big a size in order to discuss and make all the relevant decisions face to face, it will be probably less than 1,000 people - about a dozen of each age bracket.

One of the main tasks of such a community will be to care for and educate the new generation, to take care of the old folk and to support the disabled and those temporarily not in good health in every way needed.

The grassroots community will have to delegate to these tasks - as well as to the other working and social tasks - people to fill these mandates. The candidates for every task will be according to the needs of the specific task from among those who will volunteer to them according to their abilities and from the other members of the community when needed. (Each able person will be delegated to at least one working task. Most - if not all - to more socially-needed ones.)

Some tasks will be nearly life-long ones, most of them will be for much shorter periods and the social ones (delegation to higher levels of organization, to local levels, e.g. committees for various aspects of the community life) will be rotated every year or two.

For sure each one will have the appropriate audience to share the information regarding one's activities and be accountable to and for parts of this the assembly of commune members will be the appropriate audience.

The fulfilling of each mandate will be part of the contribution of the mandatee according to one's ability and will not be related to covering one's personal needs, which will be according to needs only.

Each community will have the basic facilities space(s) including for the general assembly, recreation, and distribution of daily needs. Each community will have a central space in which experts will provide the most delicious food according to each person's needs, as nearly no-one has these days the knowledge to adjust the intake of food according to personal medical needs.

The education of the younger children will take place within the grassroots community but the older ones will need a larger community which will be provided by the neighborhood grouping of a dozen or so grassroots communities.

At this neighborhood level there will be other facilities including recreational, production and supply, and services (including those which the basic community is too small to supply).

The neighborhood level and the higher regional levels of organization will be run/worked by delegates and committees of delegates from the grassroots communities and the decisions of each organizational level will be either within a specific mandate or, if needed, in the assemblies of the members of the grassroots communities included in it.

For sure in cities of hundred of thousands or millions of people, there will be facilities and big workplaces for production and services to which members of grassroots communities will be mandated and which will be run/worked by mandated committees within specific mandates. The final decision-making power, though, will always be in the hands of the assemblies of members of grassroots communities.

The decisions and the discussion at all levels will be available to all in the electronic media as will the accountability of on-going and specially-requested subjects.

Internal organization

The daily life of the grassroots community will be organized by various committees of members who will help to organize the various aspects of daily life and will try to solve problems without the need for a plenary assembly of the membershipor who will prepare them for decision by such an assembly.

For instance:
  • Membership committee, for solving interpersonal conflicts
  • Production committee, for developing production in workplaces within the community
  • Education committee
  • Workplaces committee, for allocating members to workplaces within the community or outside of it
  • Services committees for the various services supplied to the community: transport, infrastructure maintanence, healthcare, food supply, recreation, housing, general supply, etc.
Members will be mandated every year to the various committees by the community assembly with one year or two terms before rotation.

Ilan Shalif

See also http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses.html about the year 2100 - 50 years after the revolution

Related Link: http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy
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