Local Assemblies and Local Communes

Scaled-up versions of neighborhood systems, encompassing a larger district like a village, town, or city ward. Local Assemblies are the sovereign decision-making bodies for that territory, potentially federating with other assemblies. Local Communes are the implementation of communist or anarchist principles at this scale, where the assembly collectively owns and manages major local resources (housing, utilities, workshops), abolishes private property in favor of usership, and organizes production for local need. They represent a vision of politics as a daily, participatory activity rather than a spectacle every few years.

Example: In a small de-industrialized town, the city council is corrupt and powerless. Citizens form a Local Assembly in the old union hall, open to all residents. It becomes the real governing body. They transition to a Local Commune by taking over a shuttered factory to run it co-operatively, converting empty homes into communal housing based on need, and creating a local currency for trade with other communes. The police are replaced by community peacekeepers accountable to the assembly. The commune becomes a self-sufficient, directly democratic cell. Local Assemblies and Local Communes.

Local Assemblies and Local Communes by Dumuabzu January 25, 2026