#MondayAnarchy #Anarchism
– Remember, anyone can start a #MondayAnarchy – & some have already πŸ‘
. . .
#Question: In your own #activism, do the groups you are involved with, do they use 'consensus' or some version of that? or is there a hierarchy?

Is hierarchy a problem for you or others? is it a necessary evil? or is hierarchy evil if there are checks and balances?

How would prefer to work in a group vs how groups actually function?

Your deep thoughts please...

– @jd
. . .
Artist: Stephanie McMillan
http://stephaniemcmillan.org/
http://workers-power.org/
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imho, hierarchy is natural to mammals like us – but we, socialists/anarchists – must reduce as much hierarchy as possible and make all structure and leadership accountable to the group. This is difficult because cliques and circles of friends and so on form even in the most egalitarian of organisations. Mostly because it is easier for people, it easier to let people who want to do something do it, thus forming a hierarchy.
Most orgs i have been in have what i call a 'dictatorship of the doers' while others cannot do as much or choose not to, or perhaps feel intimidated or personally lack confidence or don't have the skill to 'do'.

Thus, the 2nd issue: distribution of responsibilities, of skills and the need for group trainings (which often do not happen within groups)

– @jd

The problem with 'Consensus' as it is usually practiced (in my experience) is that the knowledgeable, the skilled, and the self-confident will always dominate.

This can be ok, actually – but if your org is not working internally to distribute knowledge, teach skills, and build self-confidence of members to act on their own, then Consensus is just like any other hierarchy-based organisation.

@jd The larger and longer term groups working by consensus have also tended to have meetings explicitly and exclusively dedicated to handling internal group issues which include (unintentional) sexism, ageism, ableism, informal power structures and similar. At those meetings (like once a week of the group is together daily) no other topics would be discussed.
Often also having one or more people assigned to bring issues to the rest of the group anonymously on someone else's behalf in case they feel unable to.

I feel that has been an immensely valuable investment and seems to have worked very well.

@jd Duh! Serves me right for writing such a long post the first thing I do when I wake up.
Editing error dropped "that I have been in" somewhere around the beginning of the previous post.
I can only and only intended to speak of my own direct experience, of course!

A New #USA Declaration of Independence
– by #EmmaGoldman 1909

'...We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all human beings, irrespective of race, color, or sex, are born with the equal right to share at the table of life; that to secure this right, there must be established among men economic, social, and political freedom; we hold further that government exists but to maintain special privilege and property rights; that it coerces man into submission and therefore robs him of dignity, self-respect, and life.

The history of the American kings of capital and authority is the history of repeated crimes, injustice, oppression, outrage, and abuse, all aiming at the suppression of individual liberties and the exploitation of the people...'

https://goo.gl/MLm93a

True #altruism seen in chimpanzees

'...trained 6 chimps at the Leipzig Zoo to play a sharing game. Each chimp was paired with a partner who was given a choice of 4 ropes to pull, each with a different outcome: give just herself a banana pellet; give just the subject a pellet; give both of them pellets; or forgo her turn and let her partner make the decision instead.

Unbeknownst to these partner chimpanzees, the chimp that always started the game... was trained to always choose the last option, giving up her turn. From the partner’s point of view, this was a risky choice... as Tai risked losing out entirely on the banana pellets. Over dozens of trials, after Tai gave up her turn, the 6 partners pulled the rope that rewarded both themselves and Tai with a treat 75% of the time, indicating they valued her risking her own treats to help them...'

https://goo.gl/z2qd6X