Council Democracy

Humanity is a cooperative species by nature, but we are all trapped in this competitive system we call capitalism. 

As long as we are forced to compete as individuals and as heavily-armed nations states to survive on the planet, it doesn't make sense to expect that we will be able to suddenly begin to cooperate to solve our global problems. It's just not going to happen, no matter how much we hope for it, or believe that 'we just have to'.

We need to first design a cooperative system which can gradually grow to include everyone on the planet so that we can replace capitalism and competition, with community and cooperation. Globally!

The philosopher Hannah Arendt, promoted council democracy, in which self-defining communities govern themselves, and elect a representative to a council, as being the ideal political system for humanity. She was not taken seriously by most, as it was seen as simply a utopian dream. And, it probably was...before the internet.

The internet allows us the opportunity to create a global system of council democracy now, but it will require a very specific design to work. Ironically, facebook has showed us a better way to change the world. Imagine if facebook had been created as a democratic platform cooperative, instead of a profit seeking corporation. It would now be a democratic organization of over 3 billion people, perhaps even in a position to demand from corporations and governments the changes we need for a better world. The problem with any internet platform though, is anonymity.

A simple requirement, of registering a real community that we are part of (workplace, school, religious or cultural community, neighbourhood…) will remove the element of anonymity. Each individual’s behaviour on the platform will then be self-policing, as we are in our communities, because they will have to explain themselves to their community if they behave in an anti-social way.

By creating an open-source, democratic platform cooperative, which provides all the useful features that people want from the internet, without the anti-social and profiteering side, many people would want to join. The requirement of registering a community when they join, will gradually create a global network of self determining communities -- Council Democracy.

As individuals, we may participate democratically in one or several of these types of communities to elect a representative to a Local Council.

Each Local Council will elect and send representatives to a Regional Council:

 

 

 

Each  Regional Council will elect and send representatives to a  World Council:

 

Similar democratic systems have been built in the past by humans, but never to govern the whole world. In 1871, the people of Paris created a democratic system to manage the Paris Commune until it was destroyed by the combined effort of the French and Prussian states. Russian workers and soldiers created a democratic council (soviet) system during the revolution of 1917. This brief experiment in democracy was tragically destroyed by the Bolshevik party's seizure of control and authoritarian rule. Indigenous peoples around the world have also created democratic systems, such as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy whose lands were stolen by European settler colonialism.

 

 

 

Please reach out if you have comments, questions or wish to help.

contact[at]liberigi[dot]net