If this first cooperative is successful in activating significant numbers of voters in their local area, many such residences might be developed in other neighborhoods, and in other parts of the country. The long-term goal would be to create a national network of autonomous, politically active local outreach programs that are connected through the Internet. Each residential community will be populated by politically like-minded individuals who are also highly compatible in whatever dimensions are important to them, but the network as a whole might collectively represent all political points of view. Eventually, these diverse networks might evolve into several fluid coalitions of individuals and groups that can work together, in behalf of specific solutions to common problems. The number of people involved might become large enough to get the support of one or more political officials. Legislative representatives, for example, might be responsive to whatever ideas are produced by coalitions of several such residential communities, and whatever following they develop, in their districts.

Precedents for such networks of residential co-ops connected by a common purpose and philosophy, can be found in Israel's kibbutzim, the Catholic Worker houses, in religious groups of many kinds, and in a very large assortment of loosely affiliated, but largely apolitical intentional communities.

The population of the first political co-op could be recruited from among political science or law school students, recent graduates and others either not yet started on a career or in the process of ending one (retirees would be a good resource to explore). Potential co-op residents will all be politically aware individuals to whom the idea of trying to have real influence on government policy is very important. They will be people willing and able to learn to practice participatory democracy in many aspects of their lives together. Prospective residents might hold a range social points of view, but those that decide to live in the same co-op would have to basically agree on ideas for solutions to the public problems they have selected for their attention and on plans for implementing their ideas.

Some of the co-ops will be concerned largely with major issues like education, health care, world poverty, the environment, war and peace or other national and international problems. Others might be more interested in a range of local problems with their schools, or with building a new hospital, better transportation systems, fixing their roads or other infrastructure projects. But regardless of their focus, all of the neighborhood co-ops will engage in local outreach programs to gather popular support and to recruit as much local participation as possible in political action of whatever kind interests them.

There are many reasons to suggest that neighborhood political outreach groups would do better if many of the people involved decided to live and work together collectively. Provisions for working out relationship difficulties as they occur has to be part of every residential co-op plan. The experience of living collectively can provide useful opportunities to help each other become better problem solvers and therefore better participants in whatever they decide to do together. Obviously, the opportunity to think, speak, and plan together every day makes it much easier to surface and work through the many issues that inevitably generate between people undertaking joint action. Any kind of common ownership and management of property, businesses, and projects can help people stay highly motivated to understand each other better and communicate more effectively than they might otherwise do.

Thomas Jefferson wrote: “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate power of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion." Unfortunately, Jefferson and all those that followed his lead never quite told us how to do that.

Historically, attempts to put ideas like Jefferson's into practice have triggered both special interest opposition and quite a lot of public resistance. The tools and propaganda weapons of the wealthy and well connected are often subtle and always powerful. They have the means to fiercely defend their power when they think that their economic, cultural, and political interests are at stake. To balance this top down influence, bottom-up communication channels have to be more available than they are, opportunities for stronger and wider based influence need to be very easily accessed, well constructed, well presented to the public and transparent enough to be trusted. The opening of such lines of interaction might create better policies and better leadership, but I think it definitely would create better public participation in politics.

These kinds of objectives are at least to some extent attainable, but they require open, facilitated problem solving discussion that is accepted as an integral part of daily life. It helps if everyone living in each of the co-ops shares the goal of building relationships that keep deepening and expanding. It also requires an ongoing commitment to fixing whatever goes wrong between people as problems surface.

Cooperatives are a very a good idea for many reasons. First, its important to note that group living is much less ecologically damaging to the environment. Also, it is far less expensive for each individual involved. Most importantly, group living meets many personal needs. It lessens loneliness by increasing opportunities for compatible interaction. Because income and housekeeping chores are shared, most residents of intentional communities enjoy much better resources and more free time for political, social, and business activities then they would if they were living alone or in small nuclear families. Time and energy consuming tasks like cleaning, shopping, and cooking are usually taken care of by residents who choose full-time housekeeping as their job. Sufficient personal space can be ensured by purchasing and adapting housing large enough to meet each individual's needs and preferences. If the community's residents decide to pool their resources, they can collectively agree to enjoy relatively expensive equipment for art, music, photography and other kinds of activities that most people can't afford as individuals. It's usually also easier to find time to study or travel if that’s what you want to add to you life experience.

The structure of a model residential co-op might be similar to that of a successful intentional community that I helped to establish in 1980 called "Ganas." That New York City co-op is still going strong in pursuit of its original intentions, which are to improve communication skills and interpersonal relationships; develop good group problem solving and cooperative living skills and contribute to the personal growth of each individual involved, however that individual defines and desires growth. The new cooperative model will attempt to include the best of what was developed there. But unlike the largely apolitical Ganas, the new co-op will be populated by people who have selected the goal of improving and increasing public participation in politics as their primary focus.

Again like Ganas, the new community's decisions will be made collectively, most likely by a core group of people who decide to pool all their personal and material resources and are relatively unconflicted about their commitment to the agreed upon principles of the community. Meeting attendance might be open to everybody and expected of the core group, but not required of anybody. Residents employed by Ganas in its houses or businesses are paid a salary. Those who are not members of the core group and who work elsewhere pay a very modest fee for their housing, food, services, and the use of all the community's equipment and facilities. These non-core group residents are very welcome to be as fully involved as they want to be, but they’re not asked to pool any of their resources. In the new community however, everybody in residence would be expected to participate in some of the groups' political outreach activities.

I speculate that also like Ganas, all residents in the new community will be welcome at daily breakfast meetings, at which problematic issues might be presented, and plans of all kinds are discussed. Decisions will usually be postponed for the daily dinner or other meetings, at which those not present in the morning, will be fully informed. At these times, current issues will be further discussed, and decisions will be voted on. Personal concerns might be talked about and if possible resolved, as they come up, either during morning, evening, or special weekend meetings. All residents will be expected to commit to trying to learn how to welcome differences and resolve conflicts as amicably as possible.

One of the first projects created by the new community might resemble the Ganas' Café, which features a used bookstore and an art gallery that shows and sells the artwork of people in the neighborhood. Ganas' Every Thing Goes Café also provides a stage and sound system which is used to promote and enjoy local talent. The new community's café could also present local speakers who want to express and discuss their ideas, tell their stories, read their poetry and speak their political opinions.

A large and prominently displayed bulletin board could post advertisements and descriptions of as many local, political, social, and other events as possible. It could also possibly be used by people in the neighborhood to post personal messages of all kinds.

An employment desk in the café could gather and check the references of people looking for jobs, and in this way make it possible for local people to find reliable help and for people looking for employment to find it close to home.

Also like the new co-op, Ganas was originally a project of FFL (the Foundation for Feedback Learning). FFL is a nonprofit educational organization that has recently created a website called ActivistSolutions.org. The purpose of this new Internet forum is to encourage people to post political problems of concern to them and their proposed solutions to those problems. People with similar ideas are urged to try to combine their proposals and to meet on site to discuss possibilities for taking joint action to get their ideas known and implemented. Comments on everything posted is always welcome.

Residents in the new community might decide to monitor and promote the ActivistSolutions.org website (described above) and whatever other projects or businesses they decide to undertake individually or collectively. They would all be committed to working, together and to helping each other whenever possible. Every individual would try to be as aware of every other individual and care about each of them as much as they can.

The Internet provides great tools for helping people learn how to participate in the democratic process, but it leaves a huge political and social void that only face-to-face interaction can adequately fill. Online communication is just not enough. This is true for many young people who are eager to impact their world, as well as for older people whose careers are no longer compelling or demanding, and whose children are grown and gone. Too many people, particularly in big cities, are alienated, alone, and lonely. Many never even meet their neighbors. The network of neighborhood residential co-ops is designed to try to fill some of these voids.

Until now, American democracy has been compromised by the fact that too much of the general public has been cynical, apathetic, and largely apolitical. Most people are more or less unwilling or unable to combine with like-minded groups or individuals to jointly express their ideas and their will. In fact, many rarely think about the state of the union at all, except at times of serious economic breakdowns, unpopular wars, or other major crises. Such events have tended to surface charismatic leaders like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jack Kennedy and Ronald Reagan; these people tend to crystallized powerful waves of public energy. But once the immediate crisis passed, public engagement and attention tended to lapse into apathy again.

The reason the public so quickly reverts to a largely non-political status quo is that most ordinary people don't know how to find or form compatible groups that can meet regularly to discuss their individual and collective thoughts, and develop their ideas into workable proposals for action.

If realistic channels of communication could be opened, and ordinary people could believe that their input would be considered, responded to, and possibly acted on, I believe that massive public support for new directions and better solutions to problems might gradually emerge. Sustained motivation for public participation in politics might require this vertical, as well as horizontal access, to the kinds of dialogue that can generate the necessary support at the top for action that generates from the bottom.

The first step I envision is to gather a small group of possibly up to 20 people able to plan the structure of the first new political intentional community. This small founding group will look for and participate in purchasing the required housing, as well as helping to raise whatever funds are necessary. To find these people, I propose to advertise in the political science departments of colleges and universities, and in the publications of existing political advocacy organizations, as well as in the intentional communities magazine.

If you're interested, and want to discuss creating a new small community, post a comment or e-mail me using the contact form on my profile page (or simply click here).

A SUMMARY OF THE LARGER PLAN FOR A NATIONAL NETWORK OF SMALL POLITICAL CO-OPS MIGHT INCLUDE A THREE STAGE PROGRAM THAT LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS:

1. A model for a small residential political co-op that involves housing, food and a commitment to using dialogue to work out community problems and to creating participatory democracy in the community decision-making process.
2. Outreach programs to local neighborhood people and organizations that surround each individual co-op involving a commitment to organizing discussion groups that meet regularly in each neighborhood to tackle local and national issues and to create outreach programs involving a variety of political, social, and cultural activities.
3. National networking in which all local, politically oriented groups (both residential co-ops and non-residential neighborhood groups) will be contacted and introduced to each other. Like-minded people will be helped to find each other and to collaborate on action oriented programs through the ActivistSolutions.org website.