We use the phrase "decentralized politics" here to describe systems where decisions are made as close as possible to the people effected. In Laos this political body is the family, although many problems are solved by the cooperation of families in a village. In Switzerland, the primary political unit is the town, but the Swiss had to fight for this independence from the Holy Roman Empire. In the Oregon Experiment, committees are formed within a University community to represent broad concerns. Political decentralization, or local independence, is an answer to the abject failure of both Capitalism and State Communism to provide solutions for their people. Both these systems are products of the modern, massive nation-state, and both suffer from enormously destructive concentration of power in corporations and institutions. Both systems are natural propaganda machines, the one offering "freedom" and the other "collective ownership". In reality they both provide for total dependence on decisions made far away from the people served. It is extremely sad that these nation-state ideologies have now competed for our attention for so long that alternatives to both are rarely discussed. idea that small economies and polities are . m~c;>te etlt~cient .an<l.htJmc:me than large ones can be traced .cc1J.JLI31.V'I.~"'· Jefferson and Gandhi also held thil:lo.•r:!~'> '11~""t'" It has also been clear since the 19th century nmciml-sJcau:~s shift resources in ways that are ecologistressful. But political structure cannot be totally .ab·anclorle<l for reasons of stability: solidarity or confederaamong small independent regions is crucial to avoid .the pitfalls of particularism and isolationism. Groups such as The Other Economic Summit (TOES) ($20/year, PO Box 567 Rangeley, ME 04970) have been active in the fight against the abusive world economy and have pursued research in new, small-scale economics. RAIN hopes to broaden the participation in this discussion by investigating working systems, ones that represent strategies for a better future.
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