To organise a community that functions, salvage The Federalist Papers for the reasoning about factions and the distribution of power, Getting to Yes by Fisher and Ury for negotiation, an introduction to law covering property, contracts and dispute resolution, and practical books on leadership and managing groups. Communities need agreed rules and a way to resolve disputes before they need anything more elaborate.
A group that cannot settle who owns what, who decides and how disagreements end will split, whatever its technical skill.
What The Shelf Is For
- The Federalist Papers. The arguments for constitutional democracy. Whether or not you adopt that system, the reasoning about factions, representation and the spread of power applies to any group.
- Getting to Yes (Fisher and Ury). Negotiation and conflict resolution. For the first year of community formation it is more directly useful than any book on governance.
- An introduction to law. Property, contracts, dispute resolution and rights, so that the community has agreed rules and ways to settle disagreements.
- Leadership and management. Practical books on organising groups, delegation and decision making. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one such book.
Method: Using The Books
Step 1: Start with negotiation. Early disputes are about shared resources.
Step 2: Write rules down. Agreed rules that are written down are harder to argue about later.
Step 3: Separate deciding from enforcing. The reasoning in the Federalist Papers applies at any size.
Step 4: Adapt, do not copy. Your community is not a nation.
Common Mistakes
- Waiting for disputes before agreeing rules. It is much harder afterwards.
- Letting one person decide everything. The books argue against it.
- Treating law as only punishment. Most of it is about agreement.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Culture & Humanities — the third Tier 3 shelf
- Combine with: Preventing Generational Knowledge Loss — passing rules on