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cohousing

Switching to Sociocracy

Adopting Sociocracy

With the exception of those who have switched to sociocracy, virtually all cohousing communities use full group consensus decision-making as their primary method of making decisions. This means that policy decisions are made in meetings of the full membership. As these communities grow larger and more diverse and adopt more complex aims, full group consensus [...]

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Why Consent? And Why Sociocracy?

Decision-Making

I have been participating in groups that make decisions by consensus since about 1972. The definition of consensus then and now is exactly the same as the sociocratic definition of consent — not whether I agree, but under the circumstances whether I think this is the best decision we can make at this time. Or [...]

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My Pivotal Consensus Experience

Decision-Making

In 1972 with a group of parents forming a cooperative school, predominantly young Yale faculty members who had moved to town to join a new college. We were committed to diversity and having a hard time recruiting people of color and from a different socio-economic class. We were having an equally hard time finding appropriate [...]

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The Fixer

Decision-Making

Many communities—cohousing, religious, etc.—believe that conflict resolution is based on loving and understanding. That if we just care more and understand each other’s needs, conflict will go away. They emphasize how hard this is. “This is the hard work we all need to do.” Peace workers, in particular, are big on love and understanding and [...]

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Are Sociocratic Corporations Legal?

In the Workplace

Sociocratic corporations are perfectly legal. All the laws that constrain corporate functioning can be met while applying sociocratic values, principles, and methods. Laws governing corporations, both for profit and not for profit, are generally written to prevent abuses that corporations have committed in the past, often with investors’ or donors’ money. In writing the law, [...]

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Full-Circle Meetings

In Communities & Neighborhoods

The term for the highest circle or governing unit of a sociocratic organizations is “top circle.” The top circle has many functions of a board but is not all powerful as many corporate boards are. I have used “board” here because it is more familiar and in this context not likely to be confused with [...]

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