Iteration 0.5
July 21 2025
An open-source collective dedicated to prefiguring a radically egalitarian and democratic future through the socialization of technology, with a specific focus on biotechnology developed through observation and understanding of the Living World.
Open-Source: The documentation, source, and science for any technique, technology, product, or service created by the collective must be made as open and accessible as possible.
Collective: A decentralized organization made up of a mutual association of its membership without an official leadership class within it.
Prefiguration: (AKA Prefigurative Politics) The process and practice of realizing a desired future outcome by laying the material groundwork for it today. A political philosophy where the means are also the ends and the medium as also the message.
Biotechnology: Referring to any knowledge, technology, or technique related to or derived from the Living World. This includes elements such as bio-inspired design, bio-fabrication, and Social Technology.
Living World: The Living World refers to the biosphere and the countless biological systems, relationships, and ecologies present within it. This idea is distinct from the traditional dualistic conception of "Nature" as an external force/presence that exists in opposition to humans/society.
The following principles are the points which individuals must agree to in order to be admitted as a member of the Recomposition Collective. They represent guiding concepts which should animate the purpose and direction of the group’s decisions in its mission to prefigure a radically egalitarian, democratic, and just future.
1. Direct Democracy - We believe that all people should have an equal voice in determining our common future. We organize for self-determination by having decision-making power come from the bottom up. All power to the people.
2. Anti-Hierarchy - We oppose all systems of domination. We fight against capitalism, patriarchy, [disableism], imperialism, white supremacy, and all other forms of oppression, and lift up the voices of the most marginalized. We embrace [the] call for a radical revolution of values, and uphold feminist, egalitarian, and indigenous values against colonial, capitalist, and hierarchical values.
3. Ecology - The fate of [humankind] is intertwined with all other life on Earth. We embrace the holistic and reconstructive dimensions of indigenous knowledge, bio-inspired design, ecological science. Capitalism is killing life on our planet, and we are fighting to sustain life by reharmonizing human societies with the rest of the Living World.
4. Solidarity Economy - Economic democracy is essential for the preservation of our ecosystems and the self-determination of our communities. We seek to abolish the profit system and place economic decision-making in the hands of communities and workers through communal, cooperative economics and an ethic of mutual aid.
5. Revolution from the Ground Up - Our movement seeks to transform our oppressive society through collective resistance to the destructive capitalist system, together with the creation of living alternatives. We organize for dual power in our communities by building democracy and mutual aid outside the state, to confront the present system while creating the future that will replace it. We are building the new world in the shell of the old.
6. Unity-in-Diversity - We celebrate the fullest range of human identities and experiences in our movement. Our diversity and our relationships with one another are our greatest strengths. We believe that this whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that our interdependence and common humanity unite us. The aspects of ourselves that differentiate us from each other are not seen as divisive, but as allowing us different perspectives by which we may understand complex issues that affect us all; it is through the combination of these different perspectives that we gain a fuller understanding of the world around us and how it may be recomposed.
7. Transformative Justice and Remediation - We share a believe that in order to create an effective and adaptive organization and culture, that we must work towards the adoption and fostering of a shared system for transformative justice and remediation, rather than a purely punitive model of justice and judgement. The exact nature of this transformative justice model will be laid out in the Collective Code of Conduct and the Collective Transformative Justice Process and Strategy.
Recomposition Collective will be a democratic body will be composed of Members, as described in the section titled Membership functioning on a consensus model described in the section titled Assembly and Digital Democracy.
Members within the Recomposition Collective may also choose to form into Work Groups. These Work Groups should be formed when there is a particular interest or need which must be addressed in order for the group to function [within the bound of the the Points of Unity.] Work groups might exist for subgroup organizing: A Black Work Group, a Disabled Work Group, etc. Work groups might likewise exist to handle a specific problem, project, etc.: A Clothing Design Work Group, a Collective Retreat-Planning Group, etc. Work groups may exist for many purposes.
These Work Groups are advised to also use the rules laid out in the Collective Voting and Decision-Making Outline in order to make internal decisions, but regardless, they will meet separately from the main group meetings. Work groups are delegated a scope of powers and are limited to that delegation.
The purpose of Work Groups is to empower people to organize within the collective to articulate a shared interest as an intersectional group rather than leaving the burden on individuals to speak out whenever they feel that something is wrong or deserves addressing. These groups are to serve as a flexible tool that exists to serve the benefit of collective members, rather than a committee existing as part of a rigid, bureaucratic structure. The existence of these working groups does not preclude individuals from speaking out; they are a systemic means by which people can be heard, but in organization should not become obstacles in the way of individual voices being heard.
The means by which working groups may accomplish their purpose within the organization includes, but is not limited to, raising awareness within the collective, researching existing solutions and approaches, and forming and proposing their own solutions to identified issues.
The Recomposition Collective and members will be responsible for issuing resources for improving representation and accessibility, including documentation to support Work Groups and Work Group development.
Existing Work Groups are listed in the Work Group Descriptions document.
When it comes to participation in Recomposition, there are multiple means by which people are able to get involved. The most direct way to get involved is to become a member, which is to say a recomposer.
All members have the following expectations of them regardless of their degree of involvement in an organized body of the Recomposition Collective (e.g. Collective, Coop, affinity group, etc.):
Requirements
Benefits
There are different types of membership, though all are equal in their voting rights and members in good standing of the larger collective. These membership types are not ranks to be earned, but rather self-defined descriptions that members adopt as appropriate to set guidelines and expectations for themselves. The expected contribution of time for each degree of involvement is not a hard quota but rather a guideline that recomposers should adopt as appropriate to set realistic and sustainable expectations for themselves.
Example: Someone might be a full-time member and hold a position of responsibility in a local node until one day they are {injured, have a child, need to step back, etc.} adopting a part-time or free-time membership type until they are able to resume their full duties reliably. In the meantime they may continue their self-directed learning goals and report to a convener or monitor to stay connected with the node and exercise their right to participate in voting and discussion.
Full-Time
Biographic Availability: High
Contribution: 20 - 30 hours a week
For members fully immersed in the practice of recomposition, spending their full time contributing and pursuing their self-directed learning goals. These recomposers are likely to be employed within a collective organization (e.g. coop, partnership) or are retired and able to contribute full-time.
Responsibilities:
Part-Time
Biographic Availability: Moderate
Contribution: 10 - 15 hours a week
For members who are employed part time in another organization or otherwise have fairly limited availability.
Responsibilities:
Free-Time
Biographic Availability: Low
Contribution: 1 - 3 hours a week
Examples:
Responsibilities:
Benefits:
A member may only be removed by going through the process listed under Grievances, though being a recomposer is a self-defined term and so the greatest sanction is to be disassociated from and ejected from their local node.
People with a connection to the collective that is greater than general supporters but who are not active recomposers.
Requirements:
Contributions:
Limits:
For those who want to support Recomposition but do not see themselves as recomposers. They are a large part of the support base
Requirements:
Contributions:
Limits:
Representatives from other organizations or groups who wish to learn from a Recomposition node, collaborate with one, or potentially form their own node if they find the practices of recomposition in alignment with their own goals and/or values.
Requirements:
Contributions:
Limits:
If a proposal requires a particular person or group of people to carry it out and the body deems it necessary, they may elect a delegate. A delegate is a member given the right to act to carry out only what is within the bounds of a particular proposal that was passed by the Recomposition Collective. A delegate can have delegate status revoked at any point by a vote either in meetings or on the Discord server.
In The Recomposition Collective, there are four circles that carry out regular tasks within the organization, to which people should be delegated based on sortition from the membership as those circles or the membership decide that more people need to fulfill those tasks. Those four circles are: Convener, Monitor, Treasurer, and Secretary.
In order for general meetings to declare quorum, at least one member of each delegation circle must be present to report on behalf of their respective delegations.
The tasks of the people within these circles is as follows:
Required:
Encouraged:
Stretch Goals:
Required:
Encouraged:
Stretch Goals:
Required:
Encouraged:
Stretch Goals:
Required:
Encouraged:
Stretch Goals:
Required:
Encouraged:
Stretch Goals:
In order for meetings to be carried out in a way where everyone gets their time to speak, it is best that a procedure for discussion and dispute be instituted.
One Mic: Only one person speaks at a time.
Invoked Stack: The Stack Keeper should put any person that is Black, Indigenous American, LGBTQIA+, a Woman, neurodivergent, or even those who have not spoken yet, at the top of the stack. This is to make sure that those with marginalized voices are always heard and are not tread underneath those with majority perspectives or backgrounds.
Change to focus on minorities not significantly represented within the group
Invoked when anyone thinks discussion is getting heated (or will get heated)
Mutual Respect: Even when having heated disputes, members should avoid insulting one another or assuming bad faith.
The people in the following positions should rotate from different members of the group in order to prevent appearances of favouritism or erasure, [and ensuring these critical organizing skills do not end up concentrated in a small group of members.] At the beginning of each meeting, decide who should do each of these tasks.
Facilitator: The job of the facilitator is to moderate the meeting, but not to lead it. This is to say; the facilitator should make sure that the rules are being followed and they should keep the meeting on track, proceeding through the various parts of the agenda, but they should not intercede their opinions or direct discussion in any particular direction. The facilitator should be a neutral party that seeks to maintain good will and ease tensions, while keeping order in the discussions.
Stack Keeper: The job of the stack keeper is to keep track of everyone who needs to speak in the audience, keep a list, keep track of the order of those who have spoken, and enforce the stack if/when it is invoked within a meeting.
Note keeper: The job of the note keeper is to keep a record of the discussions being had and then, at the behest of the assembled membership, either keep the notes somewhere secure or discard them. The note keeper should redact anything that the assembly does not want recorded.
Each section within a meeting should have a maximum set length in order to ensure that meetings do not overflow and prevent the meetings from fulfilling their purpose. The exact length of each meeting section should be laid out in a flexible "Meeting methods and guidelines" document that can be changed during a Collective Development Session.
The following is a description of how meetings should be structured:
1. Updates: This is an opportunity for individuals to give reports as to what has taken place in between meetings, especially the decisions of Work Groups and the outcomes of direct actions.
2. Discussion: This is a period where the floor is opened to discussion of elements of interest brought forwards during Updates as well as events of direct interest to the Collective. Examples of "events of direct interest" could include, but are not limited to: local calls to action and mobilization for organizations and causes the collective stands in solidarity with, newly discovered opportunities for collective connection with other organizations and causes, and potential opportunities for the collective to gain additional tools and/or resources.
During this period, the facilitator may ask for what is called a temperature check, which is a non-binding vote, on the spot, of everyone that is present, in order to gauge support for an item under discussion.
3. Voting: The Voting process occurs when a resolution is presented by an individual in the democratic body for consideration, amendment, and ratification by the assembled membership.
In order to get a good idea of what exactly requires voting and what can be done through informal organization, please refer to Meeting methods and guidelines to get a better sense of how to utilize the voting process most effectively.
Following this, there is a discussion period about the resolution. After this discussion has concluded, the voters all place their first votes as a temperature check and the results are tallied. If the first vote is unanimous, the measure is passed and planning will begin.
If not, those who voted against the measure are asked to qualify their concerns and plead their case.
After they have pleaded their case, voters are asked to weigh in on their agreement with the grievance and those with the grievance offer amendments that, if instituted, would garner their support. These friendly amendments are then voted on and the status of consensus is re-assessed. If there is a unanimous vote, the motion is passed.
If, after all amendments have been passed, turned down, or sustained, the vote is 3/4s or greater in favour of the motion, the motion is passed and planning will begin.
Otherwise, the motion is tabled or dismissed.
4. Closure: After voting has finished, the facilitator should ask for final comments and announcements, then call the meeting to a close.
Members may propose, vote on, and pass measures between meetings, by using the Discord server. Voting on the Discord server takes place by first presenting ideas in the channel #proposals. Once these ideas have been fleshed out and turned into an operable form, the person who is making the proposal should turn it into a clean and fully descriptive version then post it in #voting and use the @Active Member and @Supporter prompts to get people to vote on it.
Voting takes place as described in the Recomposition Collective Voting and Decision-Making Outline, using a 48-hour Consensus Vote.
Although all of the processes listed above are created precisely to avoid grievances between members of the Collective Assembly, it is nonetheless the case that legitimate problems will arise between members. The following Code of Conduct has been passed to describe the norms and behaviors of the group: Recomposition Collective Code of Conduct.
We generally class problems into three categories:
1. Conflict. This category includes misunderstandings, disagreements, friction between personalities, ongoing annoyance with behavior, etc… These are situations which include reciprocal problems which do not rise to the level of lasting harm or wherein harm was not intentional. If you are in conflict with someone or observe it, first attempt to "call-in" or address it forthrightly if you have the capacity, or otherwise notifying the Monitors and thinking about a plan to address it, rather than letting it fester.
2. Harm. This category is for non-reciprocal damage to a person. One of the parties has caused the problem at hand which has put the other party at risk, caused them serious mental distress, or has placed them in way of physical harm. When harm has been done, one of the first tasks is to name it and work through it, and almost certainly involving the Monitors and the larger community. The aggrieved party is the one who is centered in the process, but we emphasize a community-lead system of accountability.
3. Abuse. This category is for serious violent behavior such as rape, assault, or harassment. This damage is one-sided or nearly one-sided. With abuse the immediate concern is safety, and corrective action will likely accompany any attempt at an accountability process, if it is deemed possible, again in a process that centers the needs of the aggrieved.
When members are having a dispute with one another, all of those involved should choose a party that they all agree is neutral in order to hear out the issues of both sides. It is recommended that those involved in the grievance process not have pre-conditions before they are willing to enter mediation. After that, the neutral party should offer a path forward that they think will balance the needs of all involved parties. The parties may choose to accept or reject this path forward or offer changes to it.
Alternatively, they may ask that another path to reconciliation be offered or that a new mediator be chosen.
If it is determined that a member is violating the Code of Conduct, specifically causing harm or abuse (not including merely being engaged in conflict), and are unable or unwilling to effectively engage with the mediation and transformative justice process, they may have their member status stripped from them with a proposal and a vote in a general membership assembly where the vote of the member in question does not count.
The member that is being expelled will have an opportunity to plead their case after their expulsion has been proposed and before voting begins. All other rules to voting and procedure must be followed in this process.
Anything contained in this document can be edited by simply passing a proposal through the general membership meetings. This is a living document and should be changed as the group desires.
Members looking to put forwards proposals to change the core documentation of the collective can bring proposed changes forwards in to a Collective Development Meetings in order to gain constructive feedback before bringing it to General Membership, but this is not required in order to bring such a proposal forwards.