What Is Communalism?
Communalism, in Murray Bookchin's sense, is a libertarian socialist program of municipal assemblies federated together to replace the nation-state and capitalism. Part of the Anarchist family.
Definition
Communalism, in Murray Bookchin's sense, is a libertarian socialist program of municipal assemblies federated together to replace the nation-state and capitalism.
Atlas definition: written by The Ideology Atlas. Writers and movements define ideologies in different ways; this is a short working definition. Further reading: Wikipedia: Murray Bookchin.
Core ideas
- Municipal assemblies and direct democracy.
- Confederation of communities.
- Ecological society.
Origins
Murray Bookchin's writing from the 1990s.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Murray Bookchin
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Communalism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 27 | toward collective / planned | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 13 | strongly toward progressive | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 19 | toward libertarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 23 | toward cosmopolitan | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 8 | strongly toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 17 | toward collective ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 32 | toward civil liberty |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 23 | toward cosmopolitan |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 14 | strongly toward progressive |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 7 | strongly toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 13 | strongly toward egalitarian |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 59 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 8 | strongly toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 10 | strongly toward secular state |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Religious doctrine should take precedence over civil law when they conflict. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Major industries should be publicly owned rather than privately controlled. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Foreign wars should be avoided unless national territory is directly threatened. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Eco-Anarchism, Communalism sits 7 points further toward nationalist on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Libertarian Socialism, Communalism sits 9 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
- Compared with Platformism, Communalism sits 8 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Communalism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Murray Bookchin
- Wikipedia: Communalism (Wikipedia search)
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.