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The interesting thing to me about communities like this that manage to persist for decades is, they find a balance of synergistic independence with collective i

The interesting thing to me about communities like this that manage to persist for decades is, they find a balance of synergistic independence with collective identity. They don't need to invent much, but they need to agree on a layer of abstraction above the personal interests of each person in a verbal consensus. Indeed, every group and culture talks until they reach consensus, but the ones who abstract the mechanisms with principles tend to manage growth more persistently. I viewed this ecovillage as a startup solving the ur-problem of governance, but instead of growing like a startup, the are just trying to sustain an equillibrium.

netcan 5y ago
Re: agree on a layer of abstraction; the ur-problem^ of governance; abstracting the mechanisms with principles Those can be important. I think in a modern context these will probably exist, because we're already familiar with charters, constitutions and such. They're probably quite necessary for dealing with disputes or property implications in a legally compatible way. That said, I think considering these primary is probably a mistake, over extrapolating from the macropolitics we know. The idea is not to design a decision making process. Let a process emerge, using our natural social abilities as people to to navigate it. Whatever emerges will probably be people dependant. A designed system that works, has answers and resolutions for every eventuality and problem is a least common denominator system. You might have to default to this is you need governance for a random collection of people without a binding thread. But for any real community with solidarity, they likely make it work in a more organic way. It'll depend on the individuals and results will vary a lot between groups. ^What's an ur-problem?
- monroeclinton 5y ago
  The ur-problem is probably a reference to Goethe. In German 'ur' is a prefix that means primeval/original/ancient. So an ur-problem of governance is the original problem of governance.

netcan 5y ago

Re: agree on a layer of abstraction; the ur-problem^ of governance; abstracting the mechanisms with principles Those can be important. I think in a modern context these will probably exist, because we're already familiar with charters, constitutions and such. They're probably quite necessary for dealing with disputes or property implications in a legally compatible way. That said, I think considering these primary is probably a mistake, over extrapolating from the macropolitics we know. The idea is not to design a decision making process. Let a process emerge, using our natural social abilities as people to to navigate it. Whatever emerges will probably be people dependant. A designed system that works, has answers and resolutions for every eventuality and problem is a least common denominator system. You might have to default to this is you need governance for a random collection of people without a binding thread. But for any real community with solidarity, they likely make it work in a more organic way. It'll depend on the individuals and results will vary a lot between groups. ^What's an ur-problem?

monroeclinton 5y ago
The ur-problem is probably a reference to Goethe. In German 'ur' is a prefix that means primeval/original/ancient. So an ur-problem of governance is the original problem of governance.