Well, we were recent fugitives from the 60s so, structure did not come naturally to us…
As for our large-scale decision making, at first it was all pretty consensual, but those early days when you have to do things like get and erect a water tower or you won’t have reliable water, or you have to get the crops in the ground or you won’t eat, it was pretty clear the things that have to be done. Later, when we got our basics more stabilized and were doing more “branching out” into various enterprises, as well as dealing with a growing population including kids, the role of a central bank grew in importance (all money was pooled) and the power built into the banker role became stronger. As always, you follow the money. And, as gets often pointed out including in that article, it’s just a lot more effective if a crew has a boss. But we dd not want to have those roles be too fixed. So we used the term “strawboss” that suggests a more temporary position. And it is true - we often did switch around where one person is the other’s boss and then later the roles reversed. But, over time some individuals emerged as the true long term leaders.
One of those leaders, a lifelong farmer and head of the large 50+ farming crew, conceived and pitched the idea that we could grow our farming business to the point of profitability because we had so much labor available. So they, along with the guru and a few others (heads of crews that brought in income like publishing as well as our community lawyer), decided to sign for the loans. I remember being at the motor pool, which was midway along the road one day in 1974 when a trio of brand new big farming tractors drove down the road with our guys driving. I shouted “hey whose tractors are those?” “Ours!” one shouted. “Huh? How did that happen?” I thought. (Prior to that we had bought smaller used tractors that didn’t cost that much.)
As it turned out, the farming scheme did not earn out anywhere close to what was predicted or hoped.
Also, on another front involving decision making and the whole community, we got pretty famous for telling people not to have an abortion but to come to have their baby delivered at the Farm and if you want you can keep it or we’ll help with adoption. That program was something that impacted the entire community but frankly it was not something that we the people had much choice in deciding. I admit I didn’t think about it that much at the time. And we were mostly all proud of being of such large level public service. But it was really expensive, esp if it was a couple and the father didn’t work much.
I, back then though, was much less concerned with governance and more interested in the day-to-day being with everyone and living out my young adulthood as part of a grand adventure. So, when I saw those tractors and got that response I thought, “hmm…well, ok I guess. They must know something I don’t.” Instead of “WTF they are doing things like that in my name without telling me first?” Now of course I would be more on the WTF side of things. I guess one lesson here is, don’t look to my experience there for a lot about what structure is best and the fine details of governance. What I know about that all came later.
We back then were good at broader things like maintaining an extraordinary low level of violence in a group that large. We were good at recognizing and growing positive sparks in each other. We started out being really serious with each other and over time developed a vast and sophisticated collective sense of humor that lasts to this day. We had rock and roll parties where I, from the stage, remember looking out at about 300 people and I know every one of them by their first name, all rocking to an inch of their lives. We shared like nothing I ever saw before or since.
But long-term governance? Not so great while it was a collective with pooled money. Coincidence? Not 100% sure…