About the use of OrganizationDominationAnarchism

Introduction

Organization - Domination - Anarchism

Title of the talk expresses the ambivalence nicely

Cited by John Cleese in "Life of Brian"

• Problem: Working ODA is not felt
  • Instead is taken as given
    Embedded in a community culture
  • Thus difficult to talk about it
  • We all know this, however
• Excitement normally about failing ODA
• So: How does working ODA function?
• Necessary: Exact and differentiated look

Organization

Suggested on (German) Oekonux list

• Important element of the ODA concept
• Regulation of processes
  • I.e.: Rules
  • On individual basis: Taking responsibility
    Responsibility can not be assigned
• Organization is useful
  Who would deny that?
  • Helps to accomplish goals
• Euphemism for ODA
  Organization contains domination

Rules and domination

Rules and freedom

• Give wanted types of behavior
  • By this exclude unwanted types of behavior
  • By this limit freedom
• Structure processes
  • By this they create freedom
    To have this process at all
    To reach the wanted goals
• Rules are ambiguous regarding freedom

Reasons and enforcement

• Reasons are decisive
  • Finding reasons is a social process
  • Makes rules understandable
  • Opens rules for discussion
    By this they are not sacrosanct (Free Cooperation) but changeable
    By this they are not transcendent (Empire) but immanent
• If necessary rules need to be enforced
  Otherwise they are useless
  • Enforcement is a sign for a failure of the process
  • 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
  • Enforcement also means using force
• No use of force without reasons

Domination in the common understanding

• Often: domination == repression
  That is one of the reasons for the term ODA
  • Then we don't need the notion of domination
  • Thus it must be distinguished from repression
  • Suggestion: repression exists where there is alienation
    If the goals of use of force are alienated from the community
• Domination contains the use of force
• Emancipatory acting must not neglect this
  Unfortunately this happens often
  Understandable because we want to minimize use of force

Sources of domination

• Source of domination: structures
  • Evoke rules
    Rules are made by humans of course
    But are not independent of structures
  • Rules crystallize to structures
    Then the reasons quickly get lost
    Especially for those who came later
• Source of domination: persons
  • Create rules
  • Act according to rules
  • Enforce rules
    Code is law
    But code is created by humans
• 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

• ODA is a social process
  • Finding and adapting rules
• Alienation
  • Is the killer for ODA processes
  • Minimized by well-suited processes
  • Self-organization == no alienation
• Anarchist models seem to fit

Orientation on consensus

• Reasons are decisive
  • Make rethinking of rules possible
  • Make insights in the usefulness of rules possible
• Orientation on consensus
  • Resolves conflicts in an optimal way
    Gives much power to the participants
    Requires a responsible mind set from the participants
  • Helps thinking reasons through
  • Fosters insight by participation
• Social process is optimized this way

Maintainership

• Known from Free Software
  I.e.: Without ideological burden
• In other places often exists in practice
  This is criticized often
  But this is an idealist position
  Better: Include reality in theory creation
• Useful for otherwise irresolvable problems
  • By time pressure
    Time pressure is alienation from a sense making process
  • When a fork would make sense
    Alienation from the project

Maintainership in practice

• Maintainership is modified consensus principle
  • Free Projects have little means of force they can use
    Nobody can be forced to stay
  • Everyone is there voluntarily
  • Orientation on consensus is the only chance
• Maintainership needs
  • Know-how
    Not everybody does this equally well
    Can be learnt
  • Transparency
    Only by this alienation can be prevented
    Only by this reasons for actions are understandable
  • 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
• Maintainership is the pragmatic variant of anarchism

Conclusion

• Organization is useful
  Expands freedom
• Organization contains rules
• Rules need
  • reasons
    prevents alienation
  • realization
    May also mean the use of force
• Processes oriented in consensus are optimal
  Create optimal rules
  Prevent alienation
  Use of force is minimized
• Maintainership is the living example
• Free Software is a nice text book example