Page 24 - C.A.L.L. #21 - Spring 2003

The A n ar chi st Comm unit a ri an larger community itself. Descaling addresses the
issue of pluralism and the problems it creates as
Why Intentional well as not forcing a minority within a
community to follow the desires of the majority
Com m uni ties Peopl e of the community.

Shoul d Support The anarchist principle of non-coercion can be
Anarchism - An Overview very useful for both the psychological well-being and peace of mind of the

by A n -ok individual community members, as well as improving the quality and health of
interpersonal relations within a community. Coercion often puts an individual in a
defensive state of mind, eliminates trust of others as well as compromising an
Anarchism may be all good and well in the philosophical sense, and individual’s sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy. The coerced individual
maybe even in the broad sociological sense, but how can it help actual subsequently becomes more secretive, withdrawn and vengeful. Breaking the cycle
real life intentional communities? In many ways this question is of coercion could go a long way towards making these attributes less pronounced.
identical to the question “How can consensus help intentional An anarchist principle which I see as being beneficial to the growth of the
communities?”. And in many ways the answer is the same, namely, to intentional communities movement is the anarchist belief of the right to secession.
This could enable and encourage groups within a community to secede and go start
enable members of an intentional community to have a direct their own intentional community. This can eventually aid in the diversity of
participatory say in the management of community affairs, to ensure communities within the intentional communities movement.
that nobody is being coerced into supporting something that they do Often-times people wonder why certain conflicts and dysfunctional behaviors exist,
not want to support and to strive to eliminate coercion of community and I see the anarchist analysis as being beneficial in both understanding this and
members in general. over-coming it.
The anarchist analysis also helps to put in perspective the relations between
There are multiple cross-overs between the consensus model of decision-making intentional communities and society and social change. Many people live in
and organization and the anarchist model, so many over-laps that quite a few intentional communities because of some theory, explicit or inexplict, that
anarchists view the consensus process to be an anarchist process, and explicitly cooperative living can make a contribution towards positive social change. An
advocate for the consensus process. Also, a considerable number of anarchist anarchist analysis could clearly spell out what factors and forces are maintaining
organizations operate using the consensus process. With this being the case, it the established order and work against social change, what other factors and forces
would be useful for communitarians interested in seeing how anarchism relates to are working for social change in various ways, and what interests are at stake for
intentional communities to study the consensus process more in-depth. both sides. Anarchist analysis can aid in one obtaining a more comprehensive
However, there are also a number of ways outside the consensus process in which understanding of the issues at hand and can lift one’s reasoning out of vague
anarchism can aid intentional communities. One of these ways is the principle of theorizing and abstract conceptualization.
free association, that is, allowing people to associate or disassociate with The issue of philosophical and political consistency also is at stake when considering
whomever they choose to and not force anyone to be the relations between
around people whom they do not want to be around. This anarchism and
could potentially result in the creation of very selective intentional communities
communities, but the effect of such selectivity would be a people. This is because
greater sense of peace of mind and security in one’s home. most intentional
Another anarchist principle that can be beneficial for communities people are
intentional communities is that of mutual aid, aka: people leftists of some sort and
helping each other out and looking out for and supporting each other. Mutual aid believe in social justice. The anarchist analysis demonstrates how capitalism is
in community provides an increased sense of community and enables individual fundamentally exploitative, oppressive and class-based. The anarchist analysis also
community members to accomplish things which they could not do on their own. demonstrates how the State is fundamentally violent, intrusive, alienating and
The anarchist principle of decentralization can also benefit intentional divisive. With all this taken into account, the anarchist analysis shows that if one is
communities by increasing efficiency and convenience through having having the truly in favor of social justice, one would be an anarchist too.
information, resources, power, etc closer to you instead of having to go to a Another value of most intentional communities people is that of pacifism or non-
centralized location. Decentralization also can make a community less vulnerable violence. Most intentional communities in fact have a “no violence” policy, which
because if one location is made unavailable, there will still be other locations makes sense when considering the nature of community relations. Anarchism points
where the things in question can be obtained. out the fundamental violence of capitalism and the State and how the State and
Another anarchist principle is that of organizing on a small scale and having capitalism are dependent upon violence - wars, militaries, poverty, police forces,
these organizations federate with each other to form larger organizations. I see security guards and prisons. Anarchism also points out that if one wants to be truly
this as a principle which can help small communities by finding support through consistent in a non-violent approach, one would be against the organized and
federating with other communities. I also see this as helping large intentional institutionalized forms of violence which exist within capitalism and the State.
communities by descaling into smaller more manageable groups within the

24