Why leaderless doesn’t always mean rudderless

Tuesday, 11 February 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A community, campaign and school’s existence with a flattened structure gives grounds to the possibility of successful organisations without formal hierarchies Betafo, Madagascar The small community of Betafo on the island off the coast of Africa is entirely devolved. After being abandoned by the central government of Madagascar the people of the town had no choice but to begin managing their affairs autonomously. All decisions are made democratically, from the building of a new well to criminal justice. In relation to the latter, lynching is carried out where required provided permission is given by the accused’s parents. Occupy Wall Street The 2011 protest movement in New York is said to have been based upon Betafo’s structure. Anthropologist David Graeber visited and observed the Madagascan community for 20 months and became one of the early instigators of the Occupy campaign. The movement’s decentralised nature and collective, participatory decision-making are direct products of Betafo. Such leaderless activism is also evident in the Tea Party movement and the Arab Spring. Summerhill School The private boarding school, founded by AS Neill in 1921, is based on a self-governing community. Decisions are democratic, made via school- wide consensus at meetings where a five-year-old pupil’s opinion is as valuable as the head teacher’s. Students are not forced into anything – even attending lessons is optional. Still living by Neill’s principle “Freedom, not licence”, the school was even rumoured to have made wearing clothes optional.

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