Sociocracy
Sociocracy is a form of government or management that presumes equality of individuals and is based on consent. The name is an English version of the Dutch sociocratie which is derived from the Latin and Greek words socius (companion) and kratein (to govern). This equality is not expressed with the 'one man one vote' law of democracy, but in the principle that a decision can only be taken if none of those present have an overbearing argumented objection against the decision.
Because sociocracy gives the individual more power in decisionmaking it is seen as a next step after democracy. A requirement of consensus would make it susceptible to political paralysis (unless applied to small, homogenous groups). To counter this problem, one does not ask if everyone agrees, but if anyone objects (which creates a psychological barrier). And in some forms of sociocracy a mere disapproval of the motion does not suffice. One has to come up with a cogent argument. Thus, it is not based on consensus but on consent, meaning that not all participants need to be in agreement.
To apply sociocracy in larger groups a system of delegation is needed in which a group chooses representatives who take the decisions for them on a higher level. This higher level is not allowed to impose its policies on "lower" policymaking circles.
The term sociocracy was first used in this sense by Kees Boeke. Gerard Edenburg has expanded on the idea in the 1970's in his electrotechnical company. This resulted in a formal organisational method named the Sociocratische KringorganisatieMethode (Sociocratic Circle organisation Method). This method is applied in some companies in the Netherlands and other countries. An example of such an organisation is BOS (Boeddhistische Omroep Stichting - Buddhist Broadcasting Foundation) in the Netherlands.
A similar method is used at Rainbow Gatherings, where, if someone wants a decision made, that person announces that publicly, so anyone can participate in the discussion. Only those who sit through the entire discussion (and can thus be said to be fully informed) can partake in the final decision. Because these discussions can take many hours (because of the consensus-requirement), only those who are sufficiently interrested will participate. Thus, no-one needs to be principally excluded, not even children (they normally wouldn't be able to sit through it) and thus this is a very extreme form of democracy.
See also
External Links in English
- Robin Good on Sociocracy
- Motivating Workers By Giving Them a Vote
- Lessons from Semco on Structure, Growth and Change "Today's Semco doesn't have a traditional management hierarchy or typical organizational chart, or even a matrix or lattice management structure. The company is effectively made up of autonomous, democratically run units."