Direct Democracy
How we make decisions collectively as a community
What is Direct Democracy?
Direct democracy is a form of community organization where all members have equal power to participate in decision-making. Unlike representative democracy—where we elect others to make decisions for us—direct democracy empowers everyone to have a voice in matters that affect them.
At Common Current, we believe that decisions are best made by those most affected by them. Our direct democracy model is inspired by historical and contemporary communities around the world who have successfully implemented horizontal, non-hierarchical decision-making systems.
While traditional organizations concentrate power in boards of directors or executive teams, our approach distributes power evenly among all members, creating a system that's more equitable, representative, and participatory.
Our Core Principles
Everyone Has a Voice
All members have equal opportunity to speak, propose ideas, and influence decisions. There are no "leaders" with special decision-making authority.
Decentralization
Instead of concentrating power, we distribute it through working groups, assemblies, and horizontally-structured processes.
Consensus-Seeking
We strive for solutions that address everyone's core concerns, rather than simple majority rule that might leave large minorities feeling unheard.
Transparency
All discussions, decisions, and processes are open and accessible to members. Financial matters are managed with complete transparency.
Rotation of Tasks
Facilitation and administrative roles rotate to prevent informal power structures and to build broader skills among all members.
Adaptability
Our processes evolve based on community feedback and changing needs, ensuring our structure remains effective and responsive.
How Our Direct Democracy Works
Common Current uses an approach to decision-making that balances efficiency with broad participation.
Community Assemblies
Monthly gatherings open to all members where major decisions are discussed and finalized. These assemblies are the highest decision-making body, where we discuss our direction, resource allocation, and policy changes.
When: First Saturday of each month, 2-4pm
Working Groups
Self-organized teams focused on specific areas (Tool Library, Time Exchange, Events, etc.). These groups have autonomy for day-to-day decisions in their domain and bring larger proposals to the assembly.
Meet as needed based on their focus area
Online Participation
Digital platforms for asynchronous discussion, proposal development, and minor decisions between assemblies. This ensures that those who can't attend in-person can still participate fully.
Ongoing accessibility
Our Decision-Making Process
Proposal Development
Any member can initiate a proposal. Working groups often develop proposals related to their area. Initial ideas are shared in our online forum for early feedback.
Discussion Period
Proposals are discussed both online and in person. This period allows for questions, concerns, and refinements to be voiced. The proposal may evolve based on community input.
Consent Decision
Rather than majority vote, we use a consent-based approach: a proposal passes when there are no remaining "principled objections" (fundamental concerns that the proposal would harm the organization or contradict its values).
Implementation
Once approved, the proposal is implemented by the relevant working group or a newly formed implementation team. Clear timelines and responsibilities are established.
Evaluation & Iteration
After implementation, we evaluate the results and make adjustments as needed. This creates a continuous feedback loop of community-directed improvements.
Historical and Contemporary Influences
Our approach draws inspiration from a rich history of direct democratic practices and theoretical frameworks.
Rojava’s Democratic Confederalism (2012–Present)
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava) follows a system of democratic confederalism. It is organized through local communes, councils, and cooperatives, with direct participation from the people. Power is decentralized, with an emphasis on feminism, ecology, and multicultural inclusion.
Occupy Movement
Though short-lived, it was an important movement for kicking off horizontal organizing in the US and around the world. Occupy encampments practiced forms of direct democracy through general assemblies, consensus decision-making, and working groups. These structures allowed people to self-organize without hierarchical leadership.
Zapatistas
The Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico, practice grassroots democracy with a focus on indigenous self-governance. Their system of rotating leadership and community councils ensures decisions are made collectively. They emphasize education, healthcare, and sustainable farming, making them a compelling example of self-managed communities.
Porto Alegre Participatory Budget
The city of Porto Alegre pioneered a participatory budgeting system, allowing citizens to decide how public funds are allocated. This model has since been adopted by cities worldwide, demonstrating how local governance can be made more democratic and transparent.
Landless Workers' Movement
The Landless Workers' Movement (MST) in Brazil organizes land occupations and self-managed communities using assembly-based governance. Decisions are made collectively, and resources are distributed based on need rather than profit.
Worker Cooperatives & Community Land Trusts
Worker-owned businesses and community land trusts allow people to collectively manage resources, housing, and businesses through democratic decision-making.
Common Questions
While direct democracy can require more initial time for discussion and building consensus, it often leads to better, more durable decisions. Our approach balances the need for thorough deliberation on important matters with empowering working groups to handle routine decisions efficiently.
We design our process to be accessible to everyone regardless of schedule or life circumstances. Through our online platforms, you can participate in discussions, provide input on proposals, and even join virtual assemblies. We also rotate meeting times and provide recordings and summaries to ensure nobody is systematically excluded.
We use thoughtful facilitation techniques that encourage participation from everyone and prevent domination by more vocal members. These include round-robin speaking formats, small group breakouts, written input options, and facilitation roles that rotate regularly. Our facilitators are trained to recognize and address power dynamics.
We bring the following types of decisions to the full assembly: major financial commitments, changes to our core systems and policies, new project initiatives, and any decisions with significant ethical dimensions or community-wide impact. Day-to-day operational decisions are typically handled by working groups within agreed-upon parameters.
We view disagreements as valuable opportunities to deepen our understanding of an issue. Our process encourages expressing concerns early, clarifying the source of disagreement, and collaboratively modifying proposals to address substantive concerns. When necessary, we may use focused dialogue between those with different perspectives, third-party facilitation, or delay decisions for further information gathering.
We plan to host regular workshops on consensus decision-making, facilitation skills, and the theory and practice of direct democracy. These are open to all community members. Our community library will also includes resources on these topics that you can borrow. Additionally, we encourage new members to observe and participate in our working groups to experience our process firsthand.
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