What is “communalism”?

We define communalism as a system of confederated, autonomous, and democratically controlled municipalities and communities. These municipalities are managed via popular assemblies, ensuring control by the people who live in these communities.

Why communalism?

Under capitalism, we are deprived of our autonomy and basic needs. Food, water, shelter, healthcare, the necessities of our society are gate-kept by capitalists, whose control is protected by the state. We are alienated from not only our labor, but our lives and even our own bodies.

Our environments degrade, our neighbors starve, our communities fragment.

Communalism is the solution.

By re-engaging each person to participate in shaping their community, we can begin to erode the power of capitalists and the state and retake control of our lives. We can take the steps needed to empower workers, protect the environment, and ensure basic needs are met through mutual aid and cooperation. We are an inherently social species that is at its best when working together; through rebuilding community we can overcome the failures of modern capitalism.

Core Principles of the Initiative

These are the core principles of the initiative:

1. Capitalism and the state that upholds it are detrimental to continued human life through alienation, exploitation, and environmental degradation.

2. Every person must be able to participate in the dismantling of this state of affairs and seize their inherent right to shape their lives.

3. The establishment of confederated popular assemblies is the best method to end the current state of affairs and establish power outside the capitalist system.

4. Each individual is entitled to the irreducible minimum, the minimum quality of life that allows us to thrive as human beings, including but not limited to food, shelter, healthcare, and other necessary resources.

How to Achieve Communalism

The following are some of the broader methods we will seek to use to establish communalism within Boston:

1. Resident control of housing. The people who live within a community must have priority and control in all discussions regarding housing in that community. Through tenant unions, community land trusts, and other initiatives, we will ensure that residents have an active participation in their own housing and not be subjected to the whims of landlords and the so-called “free market”

2. Worker control of the workplace. Workers are entitled to the fruits of their labor and should have direct control of their workplaces. The means of production should be controlled by the community and in particular the workers who use it. Through worker-controlled labor unions and worker cooperatives we can ensure that the worker has control of their work.

3. Libraries of things. Access to tools, supplies, and other resources are vital to self-sustaining communities. To combat the over production and capitalist tendencies while ensuring equitable access, we seek to establish “libraries of things” so anyone can have access to these resources at any time and foster a sense of communal ownership.

4. Mutual aid. We are social creatures that thrive when we work together and lift each other up. We must come together when our neighbors are hurting and provide for them, in turn knowing our neighbors will help us when we need it. Food, clothing, and other fundamental needs must be met by our communities so that we can distance ourselves from the capitalist system that seeks to deprive us.