Scaling Up the Communalist Decision-Making Process

Welcome in our next political discussion

Are you interested in exploring how communities can make impactful decisions together? Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on Scaling up the Communalist Decision-Making Process!

Democracy needs a demos, a ‘We,’ to make decisions. Face-to-face, inclusive decision-making is most effective within small groups, ideally no larger than 150 people (the "Dunbar number"). In a group this size, each person is directly affected by the issues at hand and can gain the necessary insights to make an informed decision.

But what happens when decisions need to be made at a larger scale?

To maintain democratic principles in larger groups, we need to designate delegates. This raises important questions:

1. How do we choose delegates?

• By election? Who votes, and should it include everyone or just those directly affected by the issue?
• By mandate or term? Should each delegate represent a single issue temporarily, or serve for a longer term like a parliamentarian?
• As a representative? Should they represent factions (parties) or the whole community?

2. Should delegate selection depend on expertise, or should it be random (lottery-based)?

3. Should delegates be re-callable? If so, does that risk a focus on short-term fixes over long-term solutions?

These are some of the complex questions we’ll tackle as we explore the challenges of scaling communalist decision-making.

This is a great opportunity to learn, share, and consider new ways of thinking about community decision-making in an open, respectful setting.

Let’s come together to envision democratic structures that work for all levels of community!