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Last 6 Testimonials
*** SOCIOCRACY TESTIMONIAL #14
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http://integralvisioning.org/article.php?story=p2p90
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P2P Governance (6): Consensus vs. consent
www.republicrat.net/disc/aeas/burnicki01_en.htm
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Two items give contrasting views on peer governance. In the first, a neo-anarchist tradition promotes consensus. It is an approach that in my mind constitutes the dictatorship of a minority over the majority, and I do not see how to reconcile it with individual initiative and a dynamic society. The second item is about consent, which is different, cfr. the following quote.
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"The consent principle says that a decision can only be made when none of the circle members present has a reasoned, substantial objection to making the decision. The consent principle is different than "consensus" and "veto." With consensus the participants must be "for" the decision. With consent decision-making they must be not against. With consensus a veto blocks the decision without an argument. With consent decision making, opposition must always be supported with an argument."
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I find consent, which is a form of governance explicitely taking into account the equivalence of participants, very closely related to the peer to peer mode, which is based on equipotentiality. Sociocracy, see item 2, may well be the breakthrough form of governance I had been looking for.
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1.     The neo-anarchist consensus approach.
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Excerpt from a video-interview with Ralf Burnicki: The anarchists that I refer to in "Anarchismus und Konsens" are more from the neo-anarchist realm. Among them are: Jan Stehn, Burkhard Keimburg, Charlie Blackfield, and Gunar Seitz. That is the question: how can we imagine an alternative anarchist society that is able to exist without a Soviet system, a society that forms at the grass roots, at the grass roots of everyday life, in daily mutual cooperation. The upper social classes are entirely done away with. The issues are: how we can arrive at decisions free of political authority and how we can survive without an "above."
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The neo-anarchy that has developed in Germany since 1968 is mainly non-violent. Also in anarcho-syndicalist contexts and in non-violent contexts, the motto is that the goal of revolution, namely, freedom and equality, should be reflected in the means for achieving revolution. Accordingly, these means cannot rest on violence, because violence is not a goal of an anarchist society.
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Furthermore, anarchy is so difficult for people to understand, because many people can't imagine life without control, the organs of the State, control from above. They haven't learned to develop self-administered organizational structures; they haven't learned to realize dominance-free decision-making, beginning with their private affairs.
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The anarchist principle of consensus democracy foresees a very different principle that can be understood in two ways. First, in an anarchist consensual democracy, affected persons would have the right to be consulted on decisions. Second, all persons who are disadvantaged by a decision - I'll call them dissenters - would have the right to veto in this decision-making process. This right allows them to nullify the decision so that discussion can begin again. Through their right to veto, dissenters would have great significance within the decision-making process, and the possibility to avert disadvantages.
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Waste transport, for example, as it takes place in a representative democracy, would never occur. With today's waste transport and radioactive waste dumping, the affected population living at the site has no veto rights whatsoever. It has no right of any kind to nullify these decisions by the government, although it is very strongly affected on site by the effects of radioactive contamination and accidents. In an anarchist consensual democracy, such decisions would be impossible, because they could be nullified at any time by those affected, and in these cases the affected population would simply use their right to veto.
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Three basic elements provide a rough picture of how the principle of consensus functions: there is a meeting of the affected persons, or of those who bear any consequences of a decision. It is possible to react to a decision by either rejecting it through a veto or accepting the decision. The latter means that this issue affects me now, but I can accept the consequences, because the impact is not significant, or because I don't want to hold up the process and I see a rationale in it. Ideally, there is consensus, or unanimous agreement and adherence to a decision or a perspective on the decision. Unanimous agreement represents the ideal of consensual democracy.
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In practice, however, there are often compromises for which all sides are able to notch up half or three-quarter advantages. Consensus is, however, the intended goal in an anarchist consensual democracy. The aim is to eliminate overriding majority-based decisions. The anarchist consensus model, like anarchy as a whole, represents a view of society that focuses especially on the micro-level of society. Concern is not with relations between the government and the governed, but solely with the governed that dispose of the government. The idea is for people to come together at a grass roots level, independently and autonomously, and in cooperation with others, make decisions on the so-called micro-level of society.
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Anarchist theory actually has two fundamental critiques of the State: first, the State constantly produces governments, regardless of whether they can be voted out of office after a certain amount of time, and, second, this creates a hierarchically structured upper and an affected lower class. This is unjust and runs counter to any concept of egalitarianism and also to a demand aired in democratic theory - that ultimately, the main concern is the people's interests.
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See sociocracy + benefit or testimonial or improvement
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*** SOCIOCRACY TESTIMONIAL #15

Vermont Peace Academy
www.shapingnewworlds.com/youthlt.htm
Promoting the Teaching, Learning, and Practice of Peace
Peace-Building Training
Skills for an Interdependent World
Designed for Grades 6th-12th
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Interpersonal Peace
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Communication Skills: We learn and practice a language that connects, empowers, and enriches our communication by focusing on observations, feelings, needs, and requests. This simple form becomes a useable and healthy practice in any situation.
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Conflict Transformation: Council and NVC are evolutionary processes that help us to break patterns of thinking and cultural conditioning that lead to conflict. We use innovative strategies to free ourselves from these effects and to develop relationships based on mutual respect.
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Community Building: In circle, we honor the value of community. Everyone is important and has a unique piece to add. Importantly, each voice is respected and heard. We explore how we can move from a hierarchal structure to one of shared power and cooperation.
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Decision Making: Based on the model of Sociocracy, we learn to make decisions efficiently while respecting every person in the group. Instead of operating by majority rule, we learn to construct the best decisions that are within everyone’s range of tolerance.
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Global Peace
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Cross-cultural Systems: Cultures around the world differ in their belief systems and underlying values. By becoming aware of what is important to us and others, we expand our vision to a larger world view? We discover the commonality within our diversities.
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International Relations: We are introduced to youth from around the world who are actively working for peace. We learn about their ideas, vision, and projects that are helping to make a difference today. We network and share resources to build an international youth community.
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Social Justice: Social and economic equity are vital to a globally sustainable and interconnected world. The big question is, “Can we be free while others are oppressed?” In Council, we address the topics of poverty, gender equality, and discrimination.
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Sustainable Communities: Sustainable practices protect natural resources and rely on patterns of production and consumption that are renewable and enhance community well being. Historically, these practices originated with indigenous peoples who lived in synch with the rhythms of nature. What might we learn from these people and their ancient traditions that may be applicable today?
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*** SOCIOCRACY TESTIMONIAL #16

www.masternewmedia.org/2004/11/29/taking_back_our_decisionmaking_power.htm
MasterNewMedia by Robin Good
What Communication Experts Need To Know
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Taking Back Our Decision-Making Power: Sociocracy
Thanks to a message forwarded through the Participatory Society discussion group Cifranogy, I have just learned about a fascinating cooperative working model that brings together many of the traits we, freedom thinkers and independent agents feel so close to.
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The system, originated by a Dutch thinker during the 20th century allows the realization of the many dreams that have fallen flat with the advent of many so-called democracies.
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It is a system to run your social network and your community locally. On its own gas. It is a system that supersedes representative democracy with a cooperative participatory approach where everyone is a critical, active stakeholder.
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It is a system that recognizes that the sustainable size of such communities is a critical issue and that acknowledges the need for many small interconnected networks of communities to replace traditional government-like centralized solutions.
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Too good to be true? Read on what sociocracy is, and then tell me wat you think of it. The contents that follow have been collected, prepared and published by Ted at Twin Oaks Community web site. Please visit the site to read more about this subject.
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SOCIOCRACY
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A theoretical system of government in which the interests of all members of society are served equally.
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Gerard Endenburg, one of the developers of Sociocracy stated:
"On the road which we have taken as organizing beings, sociocracy follows on from democracy."
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Sometimes it seems like democracy is just an illusion that the powerful use to fool people into thinking that they have self-determination.
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Sociocracy was developed specifically to address human needs. It resembles and is specifically designed to mimic living organisms. In a mechanical model a mechanic runs a machine. This is analogous to managers running their employees.
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Living organisms run themselves. Not only does sociocracy address human needs, but it allows for the most responsive organization and uses a minimum number of levels of hierarchy.
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Many of our large-scale problems are systemic. Especially relating to our decision-making methods.
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A huge source of our trouble in this world is that we unwittingly give up our power to consent in decisions that affect us.
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... HOW SOCIOCRACY WORKS
The sociocratic method can be applied to every kind of organization. It starts from the concept that people are unequal, unique persons who should be equivalent in decision-making.
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Gerard Endenburg has come up with these FOUR MAIN PRINCIPLES used to form a sociocratic organization:
-Governance by Consent
-Circle Organization
-Double Linking and
-Elections by Consent.
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... Besides the four main principles Endenburg has come up with some agreements that help "maintain equivalence" between participating members:
-Everyone has a right to be part of a decision that affects them.
-Every decision may be reexamined at any time.
-No secrets may be kept.
-Everything is open to discussion.
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*** SOCIOCRACY TESTIMONIAL #17

www.masternewmedia.org/2004/11/29/taking_back_our_decisionmaking_power.htm
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Sociocracy is a form of governance. It models an organization that can function and function well with the least levels of hierarchy possible. It cannot be owned because ownership indicates who has the ultimate decision-making power. As power is shared, ownership is shared too.
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Two more traits make Sociocracy uniquely identifiable:
Organomorphism and strong support for Diversity.
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1) Organopomorphic
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Sociocracy resembles organic systems? In their pamphlet Sustainability Tom Heuerman, Ph.D. and Diane Olson, Ph.D. write:
"Fritjof Capra wrote that the wisdom of nature is sustainability. Ecologies and organizations are living systems and share the same principles of organization."
"In most organizations these dynamics are driven underground by efforts to control." "Both [ecologies and organizations] are networks, their histories determine their structures, and they are intelligent and capable of learning. Ecological literacy means using the principles of organization of ecosystems (a community of organisms and their physical environment interacting as an ecological unit) to create sustainable human communities. We can learn much from nature about sustainability."
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Here is a list of qualities of organic systems:
-1. Cooperative mutual dependence (networks)
-2. Any holon (a whole made of it's own parts, yet itself part of a larger whole) is never completely independent (hierarchy)
-3. Changes constantly
-4. Expresses Diversity
-5. Cannot be controlled and dominated
-6. Is self-maintaining and self-renewing (Autopoietic)
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Some people think that Darwin's 'Survival of the Fittest' means that competition is the way everything in the world operates. If we look at nature, though, we find that it is much more cooperation than that.
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Ecosystems evolve to dance/flow/proceed in balance. If one part of an ecosystem disappears it severely directly affects other parts and severely indirectly affects all parts.
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Cooperation is the exception rather than the rule within most businesses today.
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Since a sociocratic organization's purpose is to serve community and participants in the company, competition outside the organization is also reduced, which, of course, isn't the rule today at all.
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Sociocratic organizations link up with other sociocratic organizations and become reliant on each other.
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For those of you, like me, who strongly oppose centralization and hopes of a world government, there is a different way to look at things.
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Through the sociocratic lens you can have one world government without being controlled by one power center. All of it could be achieved with cooperative networks.
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A sociocratic organization is always connected to other sociocratic organizations. Ideally there would be a lot of them. Each community network would be connected to a top circle of other similar communities. Then there would be a circle of community top circles. This would go on, hopefully indefinitely.
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2) Diversity
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With Consent the more people that make a decision, the better the decision will be. People with vastly different ideas can craft a decision that is win-win for everybody. A group makes better decisions when ten people are present than when five people are present.
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The more people involved in a decision, the more checks and balances there
are that will bring the proposal closer to heeding what the little-angel-on-our-shoulder says. If there is only one person making the decision, there is too much temptation from the little-devil-on-our-shoulder, and as Gerard wrote, people certainly can be "uncaring, idle, and unreliable egotists."
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*** SOCIOCRACY TESTIMONIAL #18

www.masternewmedia.org/2004/11/29/taking_back_our_decisionmaking_power.htm
Are Corporations Slaves?
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John Buck, who found out about sociocracy in the Netherlands, studied it,
and brought the idea to North America, has an analogy for you to think about. A corporation is a legal person. If that corporation is owned, then that 'legal person' is owned and is a slave. If the owners make the decisions that affect everyone in the corporation, then we see here that there is a master/slave relationship.
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In a sociocratic organization a person must be included in a decision that affects them. They also get total veto power - as do all members of the decision-making body (circles in sociocratic parlance). In other words, if the owners make a decision that affects an employee, then the employee is due a say in the decision. The owners would also be included in any decision that affects them, but they wouldn't make the decision exclusively.
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In a non-sociocratic organization the owners could decide to move a manufacturing plant to Mexico. In a sociocratic organization, that couldn't happen unless every single employee who is affected by the potential move doesn't object to it happening. Is this the difference between a slave and a free person?
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This brings up an interesting thought. If the organization cannot just be told what to do by owners or a separate management class, then it cannot really be "owned." It exists to serve community and participants in the company. A participant is everyone who wishes to share in the interest of the company.
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There can be stockholders, there can be investors, but if they sell their interest in the organization, the new owners cannot change anything without the consent of every employee who is affected by the changes. Hostile takeovers and buyouts become meaningless.
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All of the material excerpted on this page has been collected, edited and originally published by Ted at the Twin Oaks Community website. I have only moderately edited the original content to make it more legible without changing in any significant way the actual content or ideas expressed in it.
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posted by Robin Good on Monday November 29 2004
updated on Saturday January 21 2006
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Readers' Comments
December 13, 2004 Cielja Kieft
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I was happily surprised by the article over sociocray on your site; knowing that spreading this wonderful (open) system by the internet is a direct way to have more people know about it. The way you explained it is clear, informative and makes curious. I was glad you had all kind of links for people to read more about it, because only describing the method is a very technical approach, as are the books about sociocracy.
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My first encounter with sociocracy was a ‘live’ one. We had a meeting with some 80 trainers. And we had hired a person from the Sociocratic Center to lead the meeting. Already after the openings round, the first ever for me, I was ‘sold’: I wanted to know more about this! It felt good, it felt right, it felt supportive, it generated enthusiasm. The aggressive complaints that the people in the meeting started with, just melted away, to never come back! All of a sudden we knew again what we wanted and that we wanted to do it together.
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After I took the sociocratic management training I started an elementary school parliament. I discovered that sociocracy is very quick adapted by children. In fact it reflects the way they want to interact and have conflict resolutions. After they had experienced the voting system they never wanted the ‘unfair democratic way’ again.
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So back to basics! I recommend every one to look for ‘life’ opportunities to experience sociocracy!
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December 1, 2004
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"The role of cooperation has been largely unmapped... Now is the time to finally build this map...". Here is a map www.1-900-870-6235.com/PeaceMap.htm of a whole new approach to dispute settlement / resolution; one that does not require either black or white party to compromise to "grey". It maps the way to new forms of cooperation, that still honour conflicting opinions and objectives.
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December 1, 2004 Sepp Hasslberger
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Cooperation vs. Competition - Toward a Literacy of Cooperation - A course at Stanford University, open to the public.
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Darwin had a blind spot. It wasn't that he didn't see the role of cooperation in evolution. He just didn't see how important it is. So for two centuries -- a time during which the world passed from an agrarian landscape into a global post-industrial culture of unprecedented scale and complexity --science, society, public policy and commerce have attended almost exclusively to the role of competition. The stories people tell themselves about what is possible, the mythical narratives that organizations and societies depend upon, have been variations of "survival of the fittest." The role of cooperation has been largely unmapped.
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November 30, 2004 Sepp Hasslberger
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Not only are corporations slaves, as John Buck eloquently shows, but it appears that corporations own more of the United States than we normally would believe. Many of the nominally government entities are actually corporations, and even the United States itself seems to be a corporate entity.
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Recommended Books
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Sociocracy As Social Design
Gerard Endenburg, Clive Bowden, Murray Pearson
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Sociocracy: The organization of decision-making
Gerard Endenburg, Jasper Lindenhovius, Clive Bowden
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It Ain't Necessarily So : How Media Make and Unmake the Scientific Picture of Reality - David Murray - Amazon Price: $15.72
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*** SOCIOCRACY TESTIMONIAL #19

Zen Practice : Zen Peacemaker Circles : Starting a Circle - Principles
www.zenpeacemakers.org/zp/circles/starting/principles.htm
Key Principles of Circle Practice
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1. Circle practice as Zen practice.
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Circle practice is a form of Zen practice. It is about realizing and actualizing the oneness and interdependence of life by integrating Zen practice with loving action. The intention is not to replace traditional Zen practice or any other type of contemplative practice engaged in by circle members, but to extend those practices by offering a form wherein people can come together to study, receive support from one another, and engage in loving actions that reflect their deepening understanding of what life is. Dogen tells us that to study Buddhism is to study the self, that to study the self is to forget the self, and that to forget the self is to be enlightened by all things. In circle practice we come to genuinely care for one another, and we begin to get a sense of belonging to something larger than our individual selves. As we practice together the circle grows wider and wider. Is it really possible for any of us to become "enlightened" without all of us crossing to the other shore together?
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2. Recognizing everyone in the circle as a jewel in Indra’s Net.
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Everyone is encouraged to bring forth their authentic voice, to speak from the heart of their own experience, and to participate fully in the life of the circle with a sense of responsibility and ownership for the circle.
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3. We’re all peers.
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Everyone in a circle is a peer. Even if a person functions as a teacher outside the circle, within the circle he/she is a peer. This principle also holds in the organizational structure where the various local circles come together as peers.
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4. Tension between the vertical and the horizontal.
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Different people have different skills. There will be times when the circle looks to one or another person for guidance in a particular matter. However, fundamentally the circle is the teacher and everyone needs to take responsibility for bringing awareness of the tendency for people to assume positions of authority and power and for people to project authority or power onto certain individuals.
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5. Honoring diversity.
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We invite all the voices - all the voices within ourselves as well as the diverse voices within the circle.
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6. Respecting the voice of the circle.
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We listen openly, intently, and respectfully to everyone in the circle and think about the direction the circle is moving in. Sociocracy has a saying, "Priority for the benefit of all." We do strive for consensus, but in a way that works for everyone. Before making a decision we ask, "Can you live with it?" If someone absolutely cannot, we discuss the issue again. Each person is important. It is not a matter of submitting or giving in to the majority. We don’t give up our ideas, preferences, or values, but learn to speak from the heart, to honor our differences, and to be less attached to the idea of a separate self. We care for everyone. We also care for the well-being of the circle and expect individuals to commit to its healthy functioning.
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7. Honoring the shadow.
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It is important to allow awareness of those parts of ourselves from which we are operating unconsciously, as individuals and as a group, and to name what we see.
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8. Turning into the skid.
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When difficult issues, feelings or problems arise, go with them. Change the agenda to reflect what is truly alive in the circle at that moment. Don’t deny what is happening. Embrace conflict and explore it.
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177 Ripley Road | Montague, MA 01351 | Phone: (413) 367-2080 | © 2006 Zen Peacemakers

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*** SOCIOCRACY TESTIMONIAL #20

http://www.ecovil.com/Pages/governance.html
EcoVillage of Loudoun County, Virginia
Mission and Goals
- EcoVillage of Loudoun County combines the co-housing ideal of people living together in community with the ecovillage ideal of people living in harmony with Earth and its inhabitants. We aim to restore nature and expand human potential by creating a lifestyle that nurtures the human spirit and offers hope for future generations.
- Initially the group used consensus to make their decisions. This proved inefficient and exhausting and led to serious rifts. Introducing sociocracy was a relief. The group became more efficient and subsequently has been able to make many difficult decisions in harmony with one another.
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*** SOCIOCRACY TESTIMONIAL #21

http://gr.grassroots.org/jive3/thread.jspa?forumID=9&threadID=1581&messageID=5939#5939
Sociocracy - Posted: May 28, 2006 12:30 PM   
Has anyone heard of this new form of governance that is considered an evolutionary step forward from democracy? We are finding it a most exciting and encouraging practice that is transforming how organizations function and become places where good ideas thrive.
Maggie Dutton in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

http://evolve.awakeningcompassion.com/?p=17
http://thesourcefarm.proboards92.com/index.cgi?board=governance&action=display&thread=1174073542&page=1