Stefan Merten * "What did the Romans bring us after all..." - About the use of OrganizationDominationAnarchism (was: [ox-en] Conference documentation / Konferenzdokumentation)
- From: Stefan Merten <smerten oekonux.de>
- Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 19:22:05 +0200
"What did the Romans bring us after all..."
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About the use of OrganizationDominationAnarchism
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Stefan Merten [smerten at oekonux.de]
Introduction
============
Organization - Domination - Anarchism
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Title of the talk expresses the ambivalence nicely
Cited by John Cleese in "Life of Brian"
o Problem: Working ODA is not felt
o Instead is taken as given
Embedded in a community culture
o Thus difficult to talk about it
o We all know this, however
o Excitement normally about failing ODA
o So: How does working ODA function?
o Necessary: Exact and differentiated look
Organization
------------
Suggested on (German) Oekonux list
o Important element of the ODA concept
o Regulation of processes
o I.e.: Rules
o On individual basis: Taking responsibility
Responsibility can not be assigned
o Organization is useful
Who would deny that?
o Helps to accomplish goals
o Euphemism for ODA
Organization contains domination
Rules and domination
====================
Rules and freedom
-----------------
o Give wanted types of behavior
o By this exclude unwanted types of behavior
o By this limit freedom
o Structure processes
o By this they create freedom
To have this process at all
To reach the wanted goals
o Rules are ambiguous regarding freedom
Reasons and enforcement
-----------------------
o Reasons are decisive
o Finding reasons is a social process
o Makes rules understandable
o Opens rules for discussion
By this they are not sacrosanct (Free Cooperation) but
changeable
By this they are not transcendent (Empire) but immanent
o If necessary rules need to be enforced
Otherwise they are useless
o Enforcement is a sign for a failure of the process
o Enforcement internal to a group is particularly ambiguous
Sometimes rules are enforced against those for whose
expansion of freedom the rules have been created in the
first place
o Enforcement also means using force
o No use of force without reasons
Domination in the common understanding
--------------------------------------
o Often: domination == repression
That is one of the reasons for the term ODA
o Then we don't need the notion of domination
o Thus it must be distinguished from repression
o Suggestion: repression exists where there is alienation
If the goals of use of force are alienated from the
community
o Domination contains the use of force
o Emancipatory acting must not neglect this
Unfortunately this happens often
Understandable because we want to minimize use of force
Sources of domination
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o Source of domination: structures
o Evoke rules
Rules are made by humans of course
But are not independent of structures
o Rules crystallize to structures
Then the reasons quickly get lost
Especially for those who came later
o Source of domination: persons
o Create rules
o Act according to rules
o Enforce rules
Code is law
But code is created by humans
o Relation between structures and persons
It stays difficult...
Anarchism and maintainership
============================
Social processes and alienation
-------------------------------
Please don't confuse anarchism with chaos!
Kant: Anarchism is order without domination
Me: Anarchism is working ODA
o ODA is a social process
o Finding and adapting rules
o Alienation
o Is the killer for ODA processes
o Minimized by well-suited processes
o Self-organization == no alienation
o Anarchist models seem to fit
Orientation on consensus
------------------------
o Reasons are decisive
o Make rethinking of rules possible
o Make insights in the usefulness of rules possible
o Orientation on consensus
o Resolves conflicts in an optimal way
Gives much power to the participants
Requires a responsible mind set from the participants
o Helps thinking reasons through
o Fosters insight by participation
o Social process is optimized this way
Maintainership
--------------
o Known from Free Software
I.e.: Without ideological burden
o In other places often exists in practice
This is criticized often
But this is an idealist position
Better: Include reality in theory creation
o Useful for otherwise irresolvable problems
o By time pressure
Time pressure is alienation from a sense making process
o When a fork would make sense
Alienation from the project
Maintainership in practice
--------------------------
o Maintainership is modified consensus principle
o Free Projects have little means of force they can use
Nobody can be forced to stay
o Everyone is there voluntarily
o Orientation on consensus is the only chance
o Maintainership needs
o Know-how
Not everybody does this equally well
Can be learnt
o Transparency
Only by this alienation can be prevented
Only by this reasons for actions are understandable
o Self-determination
Task is usually chosen by someone on his own
Part of Selbstentfaltung
A democratic election already lays the foundation for
alienation because winning the election is alienated from
maintainer action
o Maintainership is the pragmatic variant of anarchism
Conclusion
==========
o Organization is useful
Expands freedom
o Organization contains rules
o Rules need
o reasons
prevents alienation
o realization
May also mean the use of force
o Processes oriented in consensus are optimal
Create optimal rules
Prevent alienation
Use of force is minimized
o Maintainership is the living example
o Free Software is a nice text book example
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