Commune-Based Democracy

Essentially synonymous with Communal Democracy, emphasizing the commune as the foundational cell. The term often carries a stronger connotation of the commune being an integrated social and economic unit, not just a political one, practicing collective ownership and mutual aid internally.

Example: The theoretical vision of Murray Bookchin’s Communalism or Libertarian Municipalism advocates for a Commune-Based Democracy. Neighborhood assemblies would form the base, federating into confederations to manage regional affairs, replacing the state with a networked system of directly democratic, ecological communes.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Assembly-Based Democracy

A synonym for Assembly Democracy, stressing that the assembly is the basis of the entire political system. All other institutions (councils, magistrates, courts) are subordinate to and recallable by the sovereign assembly of the people.

Example: Ancient Athenian democracy was an Assembly-Based Democracy for its citizen body. The Ecclesia (assembly) of all male citizens met regularly to vote on laws, declare war, and elect officials. While not inclusive by modern standards, it placed the assembly at the absolute center of power.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Local-Based Democracy

A reiteration of the Local Democracy principle, reinforcing the idea that the local unit isn't just one level among many, but the primary source of democratic legitimacy and power. Higher levels of governance are seen as service providers or coordinators for the local units, not rulers over them.

Example: The Swiss canton system, particularly in small cantons like Glarus and Appenzell Innerrhoden that still hold annual Landsgemeinde (open-air assemblies), exemplifies Local-Based Democracy. Cantons retain immense sovereignty, and the federal government’s power is constitutionally limited, preserving local primacy.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

People-Based Democracy

A rhetorical term emphasizing that ultimate sovereignty resides with "the people" as an undifferentiated whole, often used to contrast with "elite-based" or "property-based" systems. It can be a genuine call for populist empowerment or an empty slogan used by authoritarian regimes to claim legitimacy while suppressing actual popular will. Its meaning is entirely dependent on who gets to define "the people."

Example: Populist movements on both the left and right claim to champion People-Based Democracy against a "corrupt elite." However, in practice, this can lead to majoritarian tyranny, as seen when a leader, claiming a direct connection to "the real people," bypasses institutional checks and balances, arguing they are obstructing the people's will.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Community-Based Society

A social, economic, and political model where the primary unit of organization, identity, and decision-making is the community—a cohesive group bound by geography, shared culture, mutual aid, or common purpose. This society is structured from the bottom-up, with neighborhoods, villages, or intentional communities holding sovereign authority over their local resources, social norms, and governance. The broader "society" exists as a confederation or network of these autonomous communities, cooperating for large-scale projects but retaining local control. It prioritizes social bonds, ecological sustainability, and collective well-being over individualism and centralized state or corporate power.

Example: The vision of a Community-Based Society is embodied in Murray Bookchin's Libertarian Municipalism, where democratically run town assemblies would form confederations, replacing the nation-state. Real-world glimpses include the Zapatista autonomous municipalities in Chiapas, Mexico, where Indigenous communities govern themselves through local assemblies, collectively owning land and operating their own schools, clinics, and justice systems.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Commune-Based Society

A specific, radical form of community-based society where the commune is not just a social unit but a fully integrated political and economic entity. In this model, the commune collectively owns and manages all property and means of production within its territory. Work is organized communally, resources are distributed based on need, and all members participate in direct democratic decision-making. Society is a voluntary federation of such self-sufficient, egalitarian communes. It is the structural goal of many anarcho-communists and utopian socialists, rejecting both the market and the state.

*Example: The theoretical endpoint of a Commune-Based Society is often illustrated by the short-lived Paris Commune of 1871, which aimed to turn Paris into such a collective entity. A modern small-scale example is the Twin Oaks Intentional Community in Virginia, which operates as a secular, income-sharing commune, though it exists within a larger capitalist state rather than as a federated societal model.*

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Assembly-Based Society

A political system where the foundational and sovereign institution is the popular assembly—a regular, face-to-face gathering of all citizens in a given area for the purpose of debate, legislation, and administration. This society scales through nested assemblies, where local assemblies send recallable delegates to regional or thematic councils with strictly limited, imperative mandates. It is direct democracy made infrastructural, demanding high participation and thriving on small-scale, decentralized organization. The assembly is the literal and figurative town square where society is continuously made and remade.

Example: Historical Ancient Athens, for its citizen male population, was an Assembly-Based Society with its Ecclesia. A modern speculative vision is found in the Cantonalist movement during the Spanish Civil War, where towns and cities in Aragon and Catalonia were run by worker and neighborhood assemblies, attempting to build a society from the assembly hall outward before being crushed.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026