Aim 11: We base ourselves on the principles of free agreement and grass roots organisation...
We base ourselves on the principles of free agreement and grass roots organisation from the base up into local, regional and international federations united by common interests.
Paul Walsh Tue 7 Jul 2015 3:32PM
This is a big debate - as there has been a lot of kind of dissent towards horizontalism in the wake of the Occupy movement.
For example, more middle-class activists espouse the horizontal model because they often have a lot more time. Whereas working class organisers, with less time, want results and decisions to be taken, and generally don't have the time or patience for long, drawn-out, meandering debates.
Murray Bookchin thought that consensus decision-making, "tended to turn citizens into manipulators, working behind the scenes to get full support for their proposal, rather than openly articulating valid disagreements" (Bookchin breaks with Anarchism, Janet Biehl, 2007)
I totally agree with horizontalism in theory, and as in the video I posted on the G+ group in Discussion conduct, they say that 'if there's a vote, then something's wrong - as someone isn't happy'. However, I think there's a balance to be struck between democracy and decision-making i.e. a tiny faction shouldn't have the ability to stop decisions being taken.
Bill Templer Wed 8 Jul 2015 6:47AM
I think local/regional face-to-face structures among EFL teachers have to be a high priority and in many places do not exist. NELTA in Nepal has 43 local 'chapters', in some ways a model. TESOL Northern Greece is remarkably active: http://tesolmth.blogspot.com/p/about.html A number of national EFL associations across the globe do not include more than 1-2% of the actual EFL teachers in the country. I think that should change but the chemistry for that change is difficult.
As I see it, the architecture of TawSIG is largely inside cyberia. So we want as much democracy and input as is feasible given the constraints of cyberspatial dialogue and exchange. No matter how horizontal in intent, a certain vertical structure emerges simply by dint of lack of participation in virtual space and real time. We operate in what the Greek 'u-topia' suggests, 'not a place.'
Theresa Gorman · Tue 7 Jul 2015 2:00PM
In the pilot discussions here on Loomio in May, there was a discussion that touched upon these ideas. Many felt strongly about horizontalism, and liked a wording that Bill posted, so maybe we could combine that with this aim. Something like: TAWSIG is in favor of more horizontal structures on the job, in the classroom and in society. We base TAWSIG on the principles of free agreement and grassroots organization. We also aim to create a more bottom-up '99%' orientation in the field of EFL, and encourage discussion and action around this, an egalitarian dynamic often missing in professional organizations EFL teachers may belong to.